Fear of Falling In Love
by Winter Oak
Summary: Michiru and Haruka during the Silver Millenium. Michiru had always believed that her destiny was already set the day she was born, but after meeting Haruka, she begins to see something else.
1. The Early Years

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or related characters. Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/Toei Animation/DIC.

Chapter I: Earlier Years

"I don't want to eat this!" a voice protested loudly. The young girl pushed away her plate and pouted cutely at the woman sitting across from her.

"You have to finish your dinner Michiru."

The girl made a face at the mushrooms sitting on her plate and stated, "Mushrooms are icky!"

"You won't get dessert then," the queen replied silkily as she finished off her own mushrooms.

The woman smoothed her long dress and glanced at her daughter out of the corner of her eye. It was sometimes hard being a mother and she often wondered to herself if she was fit for the role.The Queen sighed and carefully watched her daughter glare suspiciously at the mushrooms.

Sighing softly, little Michiru picked up a fork and slowly prodded the mushroom.The princess wrinkled her nose.There was no way she was going to eat that. Mushrooms were the most disgusting things that ever dared to show up on Michiru's plate. Once Michiru became Queen, she would order that no mushrooms could be served ever again. She couldn't wait. In the meantime, all she could do was hope that the mushrooms would just pick itself up and walk off the table. Of course, no such thing happened.

"Michiru, your dinner seems to be getting cold."

Michiru sighed softly. What was the point? In the end, she would have to eat the mushrooms anyway. It was the same every single time that the cooks decided to serve mushrooms. Her mother made sure of that.

Her mother also made sure that she had perfect manners, ate the right food, played the violin flawlessly, got perfect grades in her studies and had the right friends. Many times Michiru felt like exploding but didn't want to disappoint her mother.

After a long silence, the princess asked, "Mama, why can't I go outside the castle? I know no one inside the castle wants to play with me, but I'm sure I will make lots of new friends outside."

"It is dangerous out there," the woman replied, looking deeply into Michiru's eyes. "Michiru, you are a princess. I will not allow you to mix with those horrible children outside the palace. Besides, there are many children in the palace that would love to play with you."

"They don't like me," protested the aqua haired princess. Seeing the doubtful look on the Queen's face, Michiru frowned. "I could feel it."

The queen opened her mouth to reply but suddenly, a young messanger had burst into the room. He appeared slightly out of breath as he jogged towards the long elegant table where the Queen and Princess were having their dinner.

"Excuse me, your majesty."

The queen turned around and stared at the messenger sharply for interrupting her dinner.

Michiru felt slightly sorry for the young messanger that now squirmed under the Queen's glare. He must be new, Michiru thought. All of the other messangers knew better that to burst in on the Queen like that. Though the Queen of Neptune had many good qualities that made her a good ruler, she was extremely strict and had no tolerance for mistakes, clumsiness, and people that were impolite.

"Um, sorry about the, erm, interruption, but I have an urgent message to deliver," the man stammered.

Her eyes sometimes looked liked an eagle's eyes, Michiru noted. They were sharp and anyone who looked into them could tell that the Queen was powerful and dangerous. If the Queen wanted you to sit, no one dared to stand; If she wanted you to walk, no one dared to run. Her eyes were also sharp. She would notice the smallest crumbs on Michiru's clothes and scold her for eating messily. The Queen also caught Michiru hiding the horrid mushrooms in her pockets multiple times. Nothing passed her eye.

"What is it?" the Queen questioned, sweeping a lock of aqua hair out of her eyes.

The messenger shifted uncomfortably under her stare but leaned forward and whispered something into her ear. The queen nodded curtly and got up from her chair.

Looking at Michiru, the woman said, "I expect you to finish all these mushrooms by the time I get back." Then she turned around and followed her advisor out of the room, her long cloak swishing behind her.

The princess sighed and stabbed a mushroom grumpily with her fork. Perhaps the Queen wouldn't notice if she hid the mushrooms in her shoe. No... it wouldn't work. Besides her socks would get all wet from the mushroom juice. Michiru glared at the mushroom as if it were all its fault.

"Dumb mushrooms..."

* * *

A young girl leaned gracefully on the balcony, studying the birds soaring through the clear blue sky. The wind playfully tossed her short blond hair and whipped gently at her calm face. 

"It's beautiful today," Haruka commented, sweeping her hand through her hair. "I think I would like to go out again, Tamara."

From the inside of her room, the girl heard her maid drop something with a smash.

"Princess Haruka!" Tamara cried, apparently terrified. "You can't! We were almost caught last time and the queen has already begun to suspect us!"

"Mother doesn't have a clue," Haruka replied, still gazing thoughtfully at the brilliant sky.

The maid bent down to pick up the shattered pieces of the plate she had dropped, shaking her head. Nothing good could come out of this. Even if they weren't caught today, there was no guarantee that they won't be found out tomorrow or the day after that. After all, the Queen wasn't stupid, it was actually quite the opposite. "You are a princess, you surely have better things to do."

"But I don't," the blond said bluntly. She drew away from the balcony and strode into enourmous her bedroom. "Being a princess isn't as fun as you might think. There are rules for almost everything. I want to be free... free like the wind."

Haruka crouched down and reached underneath her bed.

"Where is it?" She muttered, sticking her head under the bed.

Tamara looked wildly around the room, trying to find a way to convince Haruka to stay. Eyes sweeping past the window, she suggested,"We- we could go play with the other palace children. The lords have all left today for a meeting on the moon but have left their children here in our care. You could-"

"I have met them before and they are all stuck up little- Aha! I've found it!" Haruka declared, drawing out a grubby little package.

Quickly unwrapping it, Haruka unfolded a pair of dull and worn looking pair of breeches and an old shirt she had managed to steal from the store rooms of the palace. She quickly slipped out of her dress and started putting them on.

"Okay, you know what to do," the young princess said, tossing Tamara her dress. "If you don't let anyone in, you should be fine, and if anyone looks through the window, I'm sure they won't be able to tell the difference when you're dressed up like me. Copy out chapter four for me, will you? I need to hand it in to my tutor when I return."

The maid sighed, pulling on Haruka's dress and tugging on her own short blonde-colored hair. When Tamara had first come to the palace, her beautiful hair used to reach down to her waist. She treasured her long hair and how she was able to make it shine brighter than everybody else's. However Haruka had wanted it cut so that she could act as her while Haruka went off to who knows where. Tamara sighed and ran her fingers through her short golden hair. Though Tamara had cut her hair when Haruka asked her, she didn't do it because the princess had ordered her to. She cut her hair for Haruka because she considered her a friend. And now, as a friend, Tamara was feeling concerned for Haruka. If Queen Urana caught Haruka, who knows what would happen. "You have to come back before dinner or else we'll both be in deep trouble."

"Mother is ata meeting on the moon so there is no way she will find out," Haruka replied nonchalantly.

"Just come back soon!" Tamara said, worry evident in her voice.

Haruka winked and jumped out the window on to a large leafy branch and soon disappeared from view.


	2. The Meeting on the Moon

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or related characters. Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/Toei Animation/DIC.

Author's Note: Just so there isn't any misunderstandings. All of the sailor senshiare children right now and their parents are on the Moon talking about their future. The only one who isn't a child is Setsuna.

* * *

Chapter II: Meeting on the Moon 

"But they are so young!"

Shouts and protests broke out in the large chamber as representatives from various planets rose from the circular table, arguing furiously with one another.

"We must continue our tradition," stated the ruler of Neptune coldly, her eagle-like eyes sweeping across the large chamber."It is their duty as princesses."

"They are just little girls!"

"Please, everyone, you must calm down!" Cried Queen Serenity. Silence slowly spread across the room as all heads turned to the queen, waiting for her to set things right.

"I know this may be difficult since they are the only children we have," The Queen sighed. "However, we are growing old and have protected our solar system for centuries. We will need our heirs to carry on our line of magical powers and become the ruler ofthe planets."

"Everyone here also has responsibilities," Setsuna added. "As a matriarchal society, the princesses will have to learn to defend our kingdom."

Queen Serenity nodded. "Which brings us back to training the princesses. How shall we do this so that everyone is satisfied?"

"I think it would be best if all the princesses train on the moon under your guidance," declared the ruler of Venus. She smiled softly and leaned back in her chair. Problem solved.

"That seems logical," the King of Jupiter, nodded.

"No, it won't work."

All heads turned to Urana, ruler of the planet Uranus. The young queen shook her head, her shoulder length blond hair swaying elegantly.

"The outer planets, excluding Saturn, have a different task than the inners. It is our responsibility to protect the Solar System from outside enemies, while it is the inner planet's responsibility to protect the royal family, especially Princess Serenity," explained Urana. "Their tasks are different, therefore I believe that it would benefit them if the inner and outer scouts trained seperately."

The ruler of Venusrose from her seat, pushing her chair back so it slammed loudly onto the marble floor. "Why is it you always have to disagree with me, Urana?"

"I was merely stating the facts-"

"Ever since we were young children you always had to go against me in everything!"

The rulers from the other planets stared, dumbfounded at the fight going on between the two queens. As queens, they had to learn to control their emotions and avoid causing any disturbances or fights that might lead to consequences they might regret later on. All the audience could do was watch in disbelief as the two woman continued to argue furiously with one another.

"That is because you do not think out you ideas!" Retorted Urana, her head held high.

Seeing this made the golden-haired goddess of love even more furious. Urana always thought that she was superior to her. She couldn't stand that woman any longer. Aphrodite grabbed her cup of water and flung it across the room nearly hitting Urana. However, the queen of Uranus ducked and the cup smashed loudly against the wall. A deep and long silence followed that seemed to scream in everybody's ears.

The audience glanced back and forth between the two woman. They were both standing up and glaring at each other, niether backing down.

"Sit down both of you," said the King of Saturn, finally breaking the silence. "You are both acting like idiots!"

Aphrodite picked up her chair and sat down, glaring at Urana. After glancing at Serenity, Urana shrugged and seated herself back down.

"Urana has a point," agreed Queen Serenity, ignoring Aphrodite's angry glare.

"I could take them in and train them," announced Setsuna. Everybody turned to look curiously at the young Queen. Though she was one of the younger rulers, everyone respected Setsuna greatly and were more than willing to listen to what she had to say.

"You already have too much to take care of," said Serenity, concerned for her friend.

"Its all right," replied the youngest ruler. "They will be able to learn a lot on Pluto, plus it would be easier to teach because we share the same task."

"All right," declared Serenity. "I think we are all set. The outers will train on Pluto from age 10 to 18, while the inner senshi will be instructed in my castle starting at age 13 and continue until they reach 18."

"That hardly seems fair," commented Urana. Though she did not always have the time to communicate with Haruka, she still hoped that she would be able to raise her and watch her grow up into a young woman. It was hard to admit, but she would surely miss her daughter if she were to be gone for that long.

"Haruka and Michiru need to become strong to protect us from outside attacks."

There was a short pause before Urana asked, "What about Princess Serenity and Hotaru?"

"The silver crystal and crescent moon wand are very powerful weapons, so many enemies will be drawn to their power. If I hand it to the princess, I'm afraid she'll be in danger. I do not wish to teach the princess to fight."

"You know we all will protect the princess with our lives," Queen Mercury spoke sincerely. People from around the table nodded in agreement as they looked at their queen.

Queen Serenity smiled softly, touched by the loyalty of her friends.

The queen of Saturn smiled bitterly and said, "As for Hotaru, we all hope that we will never see a day when the Soldier of Destruction is needed."

An eerie silence filled the room as everyone contemplated a situation where they would need to awaken Saturn. Their thoughts were interrupted as Queen Serenity cleared her throat loudly, indicating that they should continue with the meeting.

"Now... On to the next topic, trades."

* * *

Chairs scratched the marble floor as the meeting finally drew to an end. People muttered softly to one another and a few stayed behind chattering cheerfully with the queen. 

"What do you think of this?" Urana asked, walking beside the ruler of Pluto.

"Its only eight years. I'll take good care of Haruka and Michiru." Setsuna looked back as she heard footsteps approaching them.

"Ah, Neptina," muttered the queen of Uranus. She looked up, pretending to study the ceiling so she could avoid talking to the ruler of Neptune.

"Are you still mad at each other?" Chuckled Setsuna, her eyes sparkling brightly.

"I'm not the one who is holding unreasonable grudges," Urana replied, still staring at the ceiling. "I just don't want to start another argument."

Setsuna sighed as she glanced at Neptina. If only they could make up and become friends again. They used to be so happy together. Why were they both so stubborn?

Setsuna slowed her pace, waiting for the queen of Neptune to catch up.

"How are you doing these days, Neptina?"

"Fine, I suppose," she replied.

"You two should make up," advised Setsuna. She lifted her fingers silently counting. "It's been ten long years since you last spoke to one another?"

"I'm not a forgiving person," Neptina replied coldly, her hands shaking slightly.

The three continued walking in silence while Setsuna tried to start a conversation between the two queens beside her. However, they resumed ignoring each other throughout the whole walk out of the palace.

"Hold on," Setsuna said softly, suddenly stopping. "I forgot to tell Queen Serenity something... I'll be right back." 

The young ruler turned around and dashed back down the hallway, leaving two uncomfortable figures standing together.

* * *

Serenity and Setsuna slowly treaded through the crowded room full of chattering ministers and advisors. Everyone was tired after the long daybutwanted to engage themselves in lively conversations withone another after not having seen each other for a long time.

"How is little Ami? I haven't seen her since she was a tiny baby!" A beautiful brunette asked.

"Great, how about dear Minako?"

"Oh, we should get together sometime."

Serenity laughed softly as she listened to the various conversations.

"Its good to get together once in a while. However, I think it has been too long. We have drifted apart and there are so much misunderstandings to sort out. Urana and Aphrodite for example."

Setsuna nodded smiling bitterly. If it weren't for Queen Serenity, the meeting room would have been torn apart by now because of the little disagreements they all had. There was also the conflict between Urana and Neptina but Setsuna didn't want to worry the Queen. Serenity had enough to worry about without knowing about the conflicts of the outers. Setsuna shook her head and sighed.

Suddenly they heard a giantcrash from outside the room followed by another sound of shattering glass.

"You go tell Haruka to keep away form Michiru! Deep Sea Sumerge!"

The entire room shook as another attack followed. Mimisters, queens and kings ducked under tables as the walls started to shake, chunks of wood and stone raining down from the ceiling. From her position under the table, Setsuna could see the chandelier hanging above the table swinging precariously from side to side.

As the shaking ceased, people started to stick their heads out from under the table. Meanwhile, Setsuna was already on her feet and heading towards the door of the chamber. What were Neptina and Urana doing outside in the halllway? She knew she shouldn't have left them out there alone with one another. But for crying out loud, they were two times her age. Couldn't they handle themselves like abults?

The large room steadiedand people scrambled to their feet. Chairs had toppled over and many people were still sprawled on the floor, shocked and confused at what had just happened. The elegant chandelier hanging on the ceilinglooked as if it may fall any second. People from underneath it quickly scuttled away to a safer location.

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Came a shout from outside.

"Deep Sea Submerge!"

"Uranus World Shaking!"

Queen Serenity briskly scrambled to her feet and dashed out of the chamber. Everyone else followed and rushed to the door to find that the queens of Uranus and Neptune have transformed and were in battle.

"What am I talking about?" Sailor Neptune repeated, scowling at Uranus from across the hallway. "As if you don't know."

"Oh, please enlighten us all," Uranus replied haughtily.

"Your horrible little Haruka-"

"You leave my daughter out of this," growled Uranus. Raising her gloved hand, she formed a fist and charged at Neptune.

Coming to her senses, Setsuna ran forward and caught Uranus firmly around the waist.

"You keep out of this," shouted Uranus as she struggled to escape from her friend's firm grip.

"Urana, calm down," Setsuna whispered as she dug her heels in to the floor.

"Are you too much of a coward to fight me alone?" Neptune asked, laughing bitterly. "I guess I should of known you were one all along."

Snarling, Uranus shoved Setsuna away and charged at Neptune.

* * *

Serenity furiously slammed her hands down on the table. 

"Could you two give me a good explanation for this?"

Urana and Neptina stared at the floor. They were back in the meeting area where everything was a complete mess. Chairs were sprawled all over the floor, the chandelier had plummeted from the ceiling and the door hanging on its hinges.

"No..." They both whispered.

"No?" Serenity sighed. "We could fix this portion of the palace but that's not the reason I am disappointed."

Neptina looked up, confused, "Why are you disappointed then?"

"Because I thought that we had all overcome our differences and learned to understand each other."

"We have," said Urana sincerely, looking up and meeting the queen's eyes.

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "You have a strange way of showing it."

Urana smiled softly as she glanced around the room. It reminded her so much of the day that the three of them accidently blew up the dining hallin Charon Castle. Ruby... Neptina...

Urana sighed softly as she glanced at Neptina. "I promise I'll try to work things out with Neptina."

Serenity smiled as she turned the the Queen of Neptune. "What about you?"

"I'll... also try."

* * *

Outside the stars shone luminously, illuminating the dark gloomy night. Fireflies zipped playfully around the palace garden while the wind whistled softly gently twisting around the towering trees. 

"Something is on your mind," Setsuna stated. The young queen closed her eyes feeling the cool summer breeze whip against her face and her long dark hair flow freely in the wind. She steadied herself on the tree branch she was sitting on and studied Neptina below her.

Her friend had a sour look on her face ever since Urana had left. Setsuna could tell that something was bothering her friend but she couldn't exactly figure out what.

"I have been having unpleasant visions lately about Michiru and Haruka," muttered the sapphire haired queen. Neptina stared coldly at the fireflies zipping around her. Everything was wrong. This wasn't how she wanted her life to be. If someone had told her things would end up like this a hundred years earlier, she would have laughed in their face. She imagined a loving family, with her three best friends, Urana, Setsuna and Ruby by her side. She imagined them spending time together laughing and telling jokes. How wrong she was. "Ruby..."

Setsuna smiled bitterly as she looked down at Neptina. How did it end up like this? Urana and Neptina once promised one another to be friends forever. Have they forgotten? They loved each other very much. They stood up for one another and made sacrifices for each other. They cared deeply for one another and kept no secrets between them. Setsuna remembered the story her mother had told her when she was younger. Her mother, Neptina and Urana had blown up the dining hall of Charon Castle and grandfather was going to send them all to the dungeons. However, Urana knowing how much the other two girls were afriad of the dungeons, had stepped forward and said that it was all her fault and that she should be the only one that is punished. However, the other two girls said that they wouldn't let Urana go to the dungeon on her own.

Setsuna smiled softly at the story. She treasured any memories she had left of her mother. She had taught her a lot before she and father died. It was because of those memories and lessonsleft by herparents, that Setsuna had the strength and wisdom to rule over Pluto at such a young age. She still missed them dearly and wished every day that they were back with with her. Shaking her head, Sestuna shoved the painful thoughts of her parents out of her mind.

She had something else to do. Turning her head to Neptina and found herself speaking softly to the Queen, her voice not revealing any of the thoughts of her parents that had been haunting Setsuna's mind just a few moments earlier.

"Still... did you have to be so rash earlier with Urana?"

Neptina replied, "I brought up Michiru to become a responsible and competent ruler. I won't let Haruka corrupt her. It seems that Urana lets that one run around wild. She has no sense of discipline."

Setsuna sighed and pushed herself off the tree branch, gently landing on her feet and smiled at Neptina. "The future is always in motion. Nothing is set."

Neptina glanced uncertainly at Setsuna.

"Each person will determine his or her own destiny," Setsuna stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Neptina's shoulder. "I have some business to attend to, I'll see you later."

Neptina watched as the young woman soon disappeared into the darkness. The queen of Neptune sighed and gently placed her hand on the weathered trunk of the tree, thinking deeply.

_All these memories from before were full of joy and cheer. Ruby,Urana and I had so much fun together. Why have things changed so much?

* * *

_

Author's Note: I didn't like this chapter too much. It was too long and the information bit was really quite boring but it was important for everyone to understand what was going on.


	3. Day By Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Day by Day 

Michiru nibbled her lip nervously as she watched the Queen read overMichiru's essay on the history of planet Neptune. The young princess had worked many days to complete the essay and spent numerous nights sitting alone in the library pouring over volumes of large books. Michiru really hoped that she would be able to satisfy her mother -just for once.

As the princess stood politely beside the chair she had offered the Queen, Michiru tried to relax as she reread her essay over the shoulder of her mother. Everything had to be perfect. The princess tugged at one of her locks of aqua hair as she waited for her mother to finish scanning the piece of paper.

"Don't do that Michiru, you're tangling your hair," the queen said, her eyes never leaving the paper.

Michiru let her hand fall by her side once again. Mother still never missed a thing. Trying not to appear too agitated, Michiru examined the desk in front of her. She had made sure her room was extra clean before her mother came in. Michiru had gotten rid of all the scrunched up balls of paper and books scattered on her desk, dusted her entire room and had even found a glass vase with sweet smelling lavenders to place by the window. Hopefully her mother wouldn't spot anything she had missed.

After what seemed like hours, the Queen finally placed the piece of paper back on Michiru's desk and turned to face her daughter. "You forgot to mention about the Battle of Keto and its affect on our planet," Neptina noted.

Michiru bit her lip. Nothing. After all that hard work, her mother still didn't think she did good enough. She wondered if mother saw anything other than her mistakes and flaws.

The silence was deafening. Michiru lifted her head as she heard a rustle of cloth and saw her mother get up from her chair.

"Are you leaving so soon?"

"I have some work to finish up," the Queen stated simply as she swept out of the room. "I expect you to rewrite the essay."

The princess scrambled onto her feet and followed her mother. "I... I'll do my best."

"I expect nothing less." The Queen didn't look back at Michiru as she continued down the corridor. Her long silk dress sighed softly as the Queen moved briskly yet gracefully.

Michiru sighed and fell behind the Queen, watching her sadly as the woman slowly disappeared through a door. Michiru sighed as she turned back down the long winding hallway and walked back towards her room. A huge pile of work was waiting for her to finish.

* * *

Haruka laughed as she ran through the marketplace. She could never get bored of coming out here. Sure, she had been caught a few times, but it was always worth it. Haruka was tired of the rules inside the castle. She wanted to be able to do whatever she wanted and not care at all about what she was suppose to be acting like because she was a princess. Her mother just didn't understand. 

The blonde-haired princess yelped as she suddenly smashed into another person.

"Hey, don't you watch where you are going?" The person said irritably, rubbing his head. He glared at Haruka through his bright lime coloured eyes and was about to say something else but was interrupted by a loud yell.

"Hey, come back thief!"

"Oh, crud." The silver-haired boy quickly scrambled off his feet and ran past Haruka.

The blonde appeared slightly flustered as the boy ran past him, and slowly got to his feet. How strange. Haruka dug her hand into her pocket. Her eyes widened as she found that her money bag was missing. That boy, he...

Spinning around, Haruka ran in the direction she last saw the boy heading to. Behind her, she could hear another man chasing after the boy as well. Haruka picked up her pace. It wasn't the money that she was worried about. There was more than enough money in the palace for her to use, but Haruka had put the earrings her mother had given her on her seventh birthday. Haruka didn't like the earrings and never wore them, but the gift had meant a lot to her. That is why she always carried them by her side, even though she never used them.

Haruka skidded to a stop and looked around. She had lost the boy. No, he must be around here somewhere. Stalls decorated the busy street and Haruka heard people yelling out advertisements and haggling with customers. She had to find him. Haruka scanned the area again, trying her best to keep her mind clear. She paused. Was that him? Spotting a lock of silver hair behind an umbrella stall, Haruka ran up to the table. Deep green eyes met lime as Haruka marched up to the boy hiding behind an opened blue umbrella.

"Give it back to me now," Haruka said dangerously, walking behind the stall to where the boy was hidden. She swept the umbrella aside and moved forward to face the boy.

"I don't know what you are talking about," the silver-haired boy whispered stubbornly. He glared a Haruka as if daring him to come any closer.

"I know you took my money bag, it was only missing after you bumped into me." Haruka said fiercely. Her face was merely a few inches away from the boy's, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Keep your voice down," the boy hissed, carefully watching the shopkeeper who had been chasing him run past the umbrella stall. His eyes followed the man until he disappeared from view. Turning to Haruka, the silver-haired boy repeated that he did not have Haruka's money.

"Listen, you can keep the money you stole from me, I just want the something in the bag back."

The boy hesitated for a minute.

"Either you give me what I want or I give you a knuckle sandwhich."

Sighing softly, the boy reached into his shirt and drew out a green drawstring bag. Haruka sighed with relief. Frowning the boy opened the bag and dug out a pair of amber earrings shaped like stars.

"This what you're looking for?" he asked.

Haruka nodded and accepted the earrings. She had thought that she had lost them for sure. The blonde closed her hand and held on tightly to the earrings. She wouldn't lose them again. The earrings used to belong to her mother. She knew it was special to her and that her mother had trusted her a lot to give them to Haruka.

"Pff, I don't see anything special about them. Are they for your girl friend?"

"Hey, if you aren't buying anything, get out from behind my stall," an elderly man had appeared by their side and didn't seem pleased at all. Just at that moment the shopkeeper which had been chasing the boy earlier passed by.

"Hey! You, thief!"

"Shit!" The boy quickly jumped onto his feet and started running for his life. Haruka hesitated for a moment before scrambling after him, with the angry shopkeeper not far behind. The owner of the umbrella stand also seemed to have joined the chase, fearing that the two strangers hiding behind his stall had taken one of his umbrellas as well. Which was the case, since in his hurry, the boy had forgot to put down the umbrella he was hiding behind earlier.

"Huff, how did you catch up to me so quickly?" the boy asked, picking up his pace. "Actually, what are you doing running with me? You got what you wanted didn't you?"

Haruka wasn't sure what she was doing either. But she found herself grabbing the boy's wrist and leading them toward the palace. She led them along the familiar towering palace walls and through the small decorative trees that surrounded the outside of the palace. The stone walls seemed to slip behind them as they continued to run as fast as they could. They skidded around a corner, past a tall marble statue of a mermaid and leaped behind a group of bushes. Fumbling slightly, Haruka pushed the boy through a hole in the palace wall and followed him until they reached the other side of the thick stone wall. They wouldn't find them here. Only Haruka knew about the secret entrance, and it was a good thing too because she didn't want attackers coming in with out anyone noticing.

They were both panting heavily as they sat sprawled on the ground, hiding behind a tree inside the palace grounds.

Haruka recovered quickly and she watched silently as the boy struggled to regain his breath. That was a close one. But why? Why did she help him. Why did she lead the boy into the palace, a thief no less. It didn't make any sense. They sat in silence for a while, the only sound was the singing of birds and the rustle of leaves.

Haruka peered through the bushes they were hiding behind and was relieved to find that no guards were near by. They were safe.

Turning back around, Haruka burst out in laughter as she saw the boy's appearance. His hair tie had come loose and his long locks of hair had become tangled in the run, sticks, leaves, and dirt clung to the long silver hair, making it look like a giant bird's nest. If there were any guards near by they definitely would have burst through the bushes and have caught them. That is, if they didn't run away screaming at the sight of the silver-haired boy.

"You don't look to great either," the boy grumbled, trying pulling out leaves and sticks from his hair. Facing Haruka, the boy frowned. He had about a million questions on his mind, like how the kid knew about the secret entrance into the palace and who he was. However, the only thing he could come up with was. "Why did you help me?"

Haruka shrugged, trying to look unconcerned. "I don't know."

She stared at the boy, the exact same question echoing in her mind. Perhaps it was because the boy seemed similar to Haruka. The same rebellious nature and stubbornness. The damage was done though.

"Listen, I want you to promise me you won't use this entrance. If the palace guards caught you-"

"I know, I'm not that stupid."

Haruka looked suspiciously at the boy. "I really mean it."

"I also mean it when I say I'm not stupid."

She really didn't want to lose the secret entrance that allowed her to escape outside of the palace, but if the boy told anyone, there would be a lot of trouble. Could she trust him?

"Listen, I want to thank you for helping me... If it weren't for you, I, um, well, I would be in deep trouble right now."

Haruka stayed silent.

"I'm Yaten, who are you, boy?"

"Haruka." Haruka smiled with amusement. So he thought she was a boy. This wasn't surprising since few girls wandered around alone outside in the marketplace. They tended to stay home, learning how to sew and become a proper lady. However, Haruka was not interested in any of that. Plus, Haruka's attire seemed to shout out the word "boy" very loudly. Not wanting Yaten tosuspect her real identity, Haruka added, "My parent's are cooks at the castle."

"I should get going," Yaten said, getting back on to his feet. The boy stared silently at Haruka, as if thinking something over. "Listen..."

Yaten hesitated before reaching into his shirt and drawing out Haruka's moneybag. "You could have this back."

Haruka shook her head, pushing the bag full of money back toYaten. "Keep it. It looks like you need it more than me."

Yaten paused, and nodded before disappearing through the bushes that covered the secret entrance to the castle.

"You better keep your promise," Haruka muttered, little did she know, that what she did today would form a strong friendship that would last for years to come.

* * *

"I simply can't stand her, she is so perfect and everyone simply loves her, how disgusting." 

"I agree, the only reason we pretend to be her friends is because she is a princess."

"She is so stupid to believe that we like her."

Unknown to the speakers, the person they were talking about was hiding behind the corner, her eyes full of tears. Michiru sank to the floor, dropping the flowers that she had picked for her friends. She had worked so hard to impress them, she had worked so hard to satisfy them, and yet, they didn't think of her as a friend. She had thought that if she was good at everything, then they would like her? Why? What had she done wrong?

* * *

Michiru stayed alone by a pillar in the great dining hall as she watched the room slowly fill with dinner guests. The servants scurried around hurriedly, putting on the finishing touches. The plates and cutlery were lined neatly on the long oak table, and sparkled so brightly, that one could assume that they have been washed with steaming water ten times in a row. A royal red table cloth was draped over the large table with golden fringes decorating the edges and beautiful bouquets of the most extraordinary flowers have been placed in vases along the middle of the grand table. 

Various smells floated through the air as the cooks hurried to finish cooking the feast for the Queen's guest. Michiru breathed in deeply, catching the scent of spices and freshly cooked bread. It was the Queen's birthday and the entire palace was preparing for an evening full of celebrations.

Unnoticed by the princess, a huge group of guests had gathered around her.

"The princess has grown so much, she has so much talent, I'm sure she'll become a great queen some day," a young man said, to the surrounding people.

"And her violin skills are so impressive at such a young age, everyone knows the princess will become one of the greatest violinist the world has ever seen," a noble exclaimed, laughing with his other companions.

"And her art work... ah, don't get me started on that. We expect great things from you."

Michiru managed to smile politely at the lords and ministers praising her. These words have lost their meaning a long time ago. Once, she had clung on to every word, believing that the words of encouragement would ensure her success. However, after hearing the words that her very own friends had said about her, Michiru knew that it wasn't true. The praises and compliments had once meant something to her, but their meaning and value began to fade slowly over time. As a matter of fact, it was only making things worse. They expected so much, and she could only do so little. All that she was able to do was to smile and nod at the guests, why was she so pathetic? Why did everyone want so much from her?

* * *

"No." 

"It's just a tiny favor."

"I'm not an idiot," Yaten said, turning his back to Haruka.

The blonde smiled evilly as she walked in front of Yaten. "You still owe me from the time I rescued you from a flock of angry chickens, and the time that the angry old woman thought you stole her eggs and then there was the time..."

"Okay, okay! I get the point." The young boy grumbled, shoving his hands into his pocket. "I'll do it, but you're taking me out for lunch."

Haruka grinned, grabbing Yaten's arm and leading him towards the small, humble looking house. The lawn outside was decorated with various flowers of many different colors, making the lawn look like a field full of jewels. Smoke slowly drifted out of the chimney, giving the small house a cozy feeling.

Pushing Yaten forward, Haruka gently knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal an elderly woman in her fifties. She had a stern look on her face that made it clear that she was not to be fooled with.

"I presume that you must be Mr. Haruka."

Harukasmirked as she pushed Yaten forward. "Yes, that's him."

Why the Queen thought that she needed lessons on acting like a lady, Haruka had no idea. However, the Queen insisted that Haruka needed to learn how to be a lady so she signed her up with an instructor. But with a little meddling and changing of information, Haruka was able to make the instructor believe that Haruka was the son of a rich merchant and have Yaten go in her place. All Haruka needed was a certificate and her mother would get off her back. It wasn't really that bad, after all, her mother had allowed her to leave the castle for half the day to go to these lessons. But if there was one thing Haruka couldn't stand, it was rules. She hated the responsibilities of a princess and had tried many times to forget that she would be the future queen. That is why Haruka spent so much time in the marketplace, trying to take her mind off the future. Yaten had been a great help, Haruka just felt guilty for lying to her best friend about her identity.

Haruka smirked as she watched Yaten march past the instructor. The elderly woman had accepted the job at once, after all, the customer was willing to pay a lot of money. How hard could it be? It looked like a piece of cake. She didn't know how wrong she was. She frowned as she watched "Haruka" stomp into the room, looking like he would have prefered to be anywhere else but here.

"What do you think you're doing!"

"Walking," Yaten replied, facing the instructor.

"You're doing it incorrectly."

"What? Listen, I KNOW how to walk," Yaten said loudly.

"You, are doing it incorrectly."

"How could there be a wrong way to walk!"

The elderly woman shook her head, and glided over to Yaten. "You are a gentleman. A gentleman does not take giant strides while walking. A gentleman glides."

"Glide? What do you think I am? A ghost?"

"Glide," the elderly woman repeated, grabbing Yaten by the arm and walking -er, gliding- the "gentleman" around the room. "Understand?"

"The hell I do!" Yaten watched with satisfaction as the lady gasped at the crude language. Living all his life in the streets, Yaten had managed to pick up some nasty language.

Haruka could only cover her mouth to stop from laughing out loud. She knew that Yaten wouldn't appreciate it. Haruka swept her hand through her tangled hair as she looked at Yaten argue with the instructor. She felt free outside the castle and together with Yaten. She could forget who she was and all her responsibilities. Just watching Yaten shout whatever words he could, made her envy him but she felt happy by his side, watching him do what she could not.

"No, no, no," the lady said, shaking her head at Yaten. "A gentleman cannot say that."

Yaten opened his mouth to reply but saw Haruka shaking his head. With great difficulty, the young man managed to shut up and listen to the old lady lecture him on manners.

"Okay, okay, I get the point," Yaten yelled.

"No yelling either."

At this point, Yaten couldn't help but shoot Haruka a very poisonous glare.


	4. Haruka's Friend

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: Haruka is a little out of character... okay, maybe more than a little. Just bear with me.

* * *

Chapter III: Haruka's Friend 

Rap. Rap.

Tamara nearly fell off her chair when she heard the knock. She just knew this was a bad idea for Haruka to go out and find her friend today. Lately, Haruka had been getting more visitors, probably people sent by the Queen to make sure that everything was all right before Haruka left for Pluto. Tamara just knew it was a bad idea for Haruka to leave. But would Haruka listen to her? NO! She never listened to her. Even after two years of getting caught and getting punished, Haruka never seemed to get the idea. Shaking slightly, the girl tried to imitate the princess's confident and loud voice.

"G-go away, I d-do not want any visitors." Tamara almost laughed out loud at her attempt to imitate the princess but decided that laughing wouldn't be such a good idea in a situation like this.

_Who could it be? _Tamara wondered as she bit her nails. _Princess Haruka doesn't have any lessons today so it can't be any of the teachers. _

Then a thought struck the blond haired girl.

_Please don't let it be the queen._

Wringing her hands, the princess's maid glanced around warily. There was no place to run and no place to hide. Plus, she had already given away the fact that someone was in the room when she yelled out that she didn't want visitors. This was bad.

_What do I do?_

Suddenly, the knocking ceased. Tamara held her breath, listening carefully for any sounds. Still shaking slightly, the maid got up from the chair and trudged over to the window.

"Wow, that was a close one," Tamara sighed softly and leaned against the door. Her eyes wandered towards the window where Haruka had left, hoping that the princess would walk back through it and return home. Unfortunately for her, no such think happened. "You have been gone for two whole hours! WHERE ARE YOU!"

Tamara shook her head, ever since Haruka had met this new friend of hers, she seldom came back by the time she promised. All day, the princess would rave about this Yaten person and would disappear to the marketplace whenever she got the chance.

"Haruka, I'm getting tired of waiting. Open the door right now."

The maid's face paled instantly when she recognized who the voice belonged to. With fear written all over her face, Tamara waited for the worse to come.

"Haruka, open the door," Queen Urana demanded, "or else I'll blast my way in!"

* * *

"You mean you've never seen gophers before?"asked Yaten, disbelief evident in his voice. 

"No," Haruka admitted while prodding one with a blade of grass. "They don't allow them in the palace."

"Must be nice living in the palace. Even if your parents are cooks."

"It's not as great as you think."

The boy gave Haruka a strange look but decided not to comment on anything. He leaned back against a tree trunk and gazed at the bright blue green sky with a self-satisfied smile.

Instead of going to the marketplace today, Haruka and her friend Yaten were outside the city exploring the mysterious forests of the planet Uranus. The princess had to admit that she had never seen anything so spectacular. Towering trees loomed over the two explorers; some even taller than the highest towers of the palace. The animals were also very intriguing. Never had Haruka seen so many different animals, though she had studiedthem with her teachers. She watched with interest as they scurried all around, some even stumbling onto Haruka's lap.

"Careful, or it'll bite your finger off," warned Yaten as he crouched down beside Haruka watching him play with the curious gopher.

"Very funny." Turning away from Yaten, Haruka smiled happily to herself. She could always forget her troubles when she was with Yaten. She enjoyed the excitement of the adventurous activities that they both indulged in, she enjoyed the feel of the freedom that she experienced outside the castle and most of all she enjoyed having a friend to be with. Haruka was very fond of Yaten. She liked his uncaring attitude, his ability to speak his mind, not bothering with half-truths, she liked his boldness, his teasing and how he would be there for her after her latest argument with her mother or just when she was feeling lonely. However, this, Haruka kept inside her behind a mask that Yaten would not be able to penetrate.

Glancing at the sky, Haruka sighed. It was getting late.

"I should get going now," the princess said, getting up from the grassy ground. "My mother will be wondering where I am."

"Alright."

Carving a trail through the tall grass, Yaten led the way home. Birds chirped in the distance as they exited the forest and the wind blew softly, causing the grass to sway back and forth like ocean waves.

"What kind of girls do you like Haruka?"

"Wha- Oh... I-"Stumbling for an answer, Haruka decided it was best to settle for a simple one. "I've never thought much about it."

Yaten laughed, "You probably would like the feminine type."

Haruka managed to maintain a neutral expression. "I don't know. What about you?"

Yaten shrugged looking uncomfortable. "No girl would want me. I'm nothing but a poor pickpocket, stealing from others just to live. I don't have it easy like those rich snobs. Especially those royal snobs living in the palace."

Haruka felt her stomach tighten but continued walking silently behind her friend.

"They keep everything to themselves yet they have too many things for their own good. Money, servants, power! They have things a person like me would never be able to have."

"They don't have everything."

Yaten stopped, causing Haruka to collide into him. He spun around to face Haruka with eyes that showed no emotion.

"I don't see what you mean," he said with narrowed eyes.

"They don't have freedom. They are tied down because of their responsibilities as a ruler."

Yaten laughed bitterly. "Freedom? So what if they don't have freedom? They have everything else! I would give up my freedom to have all that!"

Haruka frowned at Yaten.

"No... Freedom is priceless."

"That's what you say," spat the older boy. "Even if you aren't a prince, you still probably have never had to steal to live. You have probably never had to experience hunger or pain! You don't understand anything."

Yaten stormed away, leaving Haruka standing alone in the field.

"Is freedom really nothing?"

* * *

"Listen," Yaten said with difficulty."I... er, I apologize for saying all those things to you." 

Haruka had caught up to her friend and they were walking through the crowded marketplace in the city. Many smells floated through the stuffy air, from perfume to spices and fresh baked bread.

"It's okay."

"We'll watch those greedy people rot in the palace of theirs," Yaten laughed cheerfully.

The blond nodded and bit her lip. She didn't dare say anything that would give her away. If Yaten ever found out she was...

"What the-"

Haruka was jolted out of her thoughts as a dozen palace guards surrounded the two, blocking all escape routes. The girl was too shocked to move or say anything. Haruka felt numb all over.

"What do you want?" Yaten demanded.

The commander reached forward and grabbed the princess, twisting her hand behind her back. "Princess, I think you have had enough fun for today," he said coldly.

Haruka stopped struggling and paled slightly. Her mother must have been really mad this time. She had never sent the palace guards to retrieve her. Most of the time, she had waited in Haruka's room for the princess to return. However, this was not the thing that worried Haruka the most. Shaking slightly, the princess turned her head to look at Yaten.

"Princess?" Yaten whispered staring at his friend at disbelief.

* * *

Sweet scents of pies and cakes drifted through the zesty autumn air. Music played cheerfully from the side of the palace garden and people from all over the planet Uranus chattered happily together. 

Over in a corner, unnoticed, the princess of Uranus lay on the ground sadly gazing at the sky.

"Princess, aren't you joining the party?"

Haruka glanced to the side to find her maid, Tamara, stuffing her face with a monstrous slice of cake. Hiding a grin, the blonde shook her head.

"No, I'm fine here," the blond replied. "Mother didn't need to set this up for me."

"It's a very nice good-bye party," commented the maid as she sat down beside Haruka. "After all, you'll be training on Pluto for a long time. We'll all miss you."

Haruka scanned the crowd, finding her mother chattering with a few nobles. The queen had dressed neatly for the occasion, wearing a shimmering blue cloak and a elegant sapphire necklace that was a present from the king. She didn't need a lot of jewelry or a crown, for she wore power like a cloak on her shoulders.

Even after the King had been killed during a war a few years back, the Queen had remained strong and had worked even harder to please the people of Uranus. However, even with her hard work, the planet Uranus still suffered after the long war and would take even a longer time to recover. Because of this, the possibility of the Queen spending some quality time with Haruka was as likely as the mushrooms on Michiru's dinner plate to pick itself up and walk off the table.

"Do you think mother will miss me? After all the trouble I have caused her?" Haruka asked. Though they were not able to spend as much time together as Haruka would have liked, the princess still loved her mother dearly.

"Of course," Tamara cried sincerely. "She loves you, princess."

"I will miss you too," said Haruka, smiling sadly at Tamara. Then she suddenly brightened up, smirking playfully. "But you'll probably be glad that I am gone so I won't cause any more trouble for you."

"Don't say that!" The maid exclaimed.

Haruka laughed, remembering all the times they had both been punished for one ofher crazy schemes.

"But we were really lucky that her highness didn't murder us last month when she found out that you have been secretly sneaking out of the palace again after all those things she had told you about responsibility duty before you went off to Pluto. "

Haruka bit her lip. They had both got in to a lot of trouble but luckily her mother let it pass, after all, they would not see each other again for a long time to come. The only thing that still bothered her was Yaten.

"So did the princess cause a lot of trouble in the palace? Hmph, sounds like Haruka."

Haruka looked up and her mouth fell open.

"Yaten?"

She hadn't seen him for weeks after the incident outside the palace and had thought that they would never see each other again. Haruka could never forget the expression on her friend's face when the palace guard had addressed her as the princess. Shock. Anger. Betrayal...

"What are you doing here?"

"What? So you don't you want to see me?" He asked and squatting down beside Haruka.

Staring in to Yaten's eyes, the princess remembered the weeks she spent pacing in her room trying to decide what to do. She had been so confused and didn't know whether she should find Yaten to apologize or not. Poor Tamara had been left trailing Haruka around the room, trying to comfort the princess with no success.

"Aren't you anrgy?"

"Well, I was angry at first, but we promised to be friends forever." Yaten smiled and placed an arm around the princess's shoulder while Tamara decided it was best to excuse herself and left.

"You should have told me the truth from the beginning," Yaten said, frowning. "It sure would have saved us from those misunderstandings."

"You hated girls and nobles."

"Well, you're different," laughed Yaten looking closely at Haruka's face. "You know, I could have never guessed you were a girl."

"Are we still friends?" Haruka asked, staring intently into Yaten's eyes. Haruka felt her chest tighten. The answer meant so much to her. She couldn't lose Yaten. The princess held her breath as she waited for him to reply.

Yaten smiled and lightly kissed Haruka on the cheek. "Of course, _princess_."


	5. First Impressions

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any related characters. Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/Toei Animation/DIC.

* * *

Chapter IV 

The queen of Neptune scanned the page carefully, running her finger down the list. Books were scattered messily around her desk and some were even sprawled on the floor. Anyone who looked into the room would have believed they had gone mad. The strict and organized ruler of Neptune never would be found in a room with her books messily scattered about. In fact, she would never be found with a single hair out of place.

"What are you doing Neptina?"

A tall man stepped out from the shadows, his black cloak swishing behind him. His eyes sweptover the room but decided to make no comment. His eyes gleamed coldly but his face remained emotionless.

"I'm looking for a nice suitor for Michiru. I can't let her get too close to Haruka," the queen replied, flipping through the book.

"Ah... Yes, we must be cautious," the man slid behind the queen and peered curiously over her shoulder.

"If Michiru and Haruka do..." The queen struggled to find the words. "I won't allow Michiru to take the throne then. I'll kick her out of the royal family myself. I won't allow such a disgraceful thing ruin our family name."

The man considered this frowning slightly.

"You still can't forget Ruby can you?"

Neptina sighed and gently closed the book. "What are you talking about?"

"What do you think?"

Neptina paused to think over his words and weighed her own words before she provided an answer to the man.

"I'm just concerned about Michiru, that's all. This has nothing to do with the grudge I have against Urana," Neptina said after a moment of silence.

"Hm... It has been ten long years since the incident," Malachite noted.

"And your point is?"

"It's not entirely their fault and don't forget Urana lost someone too in that war against the invaders. At least our planet still has a king. We all have to make sacrifices to defend our homes."

The queen turned in her seat to face her advisor.

"It could have ended up differently if Urana had only tried to save her. I do not forgive people that easily."

An eerie silence filled the cold room. Deciding that it was best to change the topic, Neptina asked, "Malachite, do you know any young men suitable for my daughter?"

"She could marry me."

Neptina raised an eyebrow. "You're joking right? You're too old."

Malachite leaned forward until his face was only a few centimeters apart from the queen's.

"Then you could marry me," he whispered.

Neptina looked up with a shocked expression at her advisor. She quickly covered up her emotions. Neptina had known Malachite since the day Michiru had been born. He was an intelligent man and had helped her in many situations.It was only until recently that she had noticed a darker side of her friend. The side that craved for power and wealth. She would need to watch out for him in the future.

"We are only friends! I will remain your queen and you will remain your advisor," Neptina said, forcing her voice to remain cold and indifferent. "Now I command you to leave!"

The ruler of Neptune pointed at the door, making it clear that she wanted him to leave. Her face showed no emotion but Malachite could easily read through the Queen after knowing her for so long. It seemed his words had affected her more than she dared to show

"As you wish your highness."

Malachite smiled and slipped out the door._

* * *

_

Haruka flung herself onto the couch and sighed softly.

_I can't believe I'm stuck in this dreary place for the next eight years._

It was true that the princess had been looking forward to leaving home at last and training to defend their home but that had all changed once she had walked into Charon Castle. Small white candles placed in the guest room flickered wearily, barely managing to stay lighted. The wooden floor boards creaked weakly and the walls moaned as the harsh wind slammed against the small castle. The young girl squinted and glanced around the gloomy room, trying to distinguish the room's features.

_What is worse is that I have to share this room with another princess. She is probably snobby like all the others. Yes, this was going to be a long and tiring eight years._

Moodily, the princess peeled off a sock and threw it across the room, accidentally knocking over an expensive vase, making it shatter into a hundred little pieces.

Haruka jumped up from the couch and instantly started panicking. She didn't mean to break the vase. What if they found out and decided to send her home? She was joking about wanting to go home. The place wasn't that bad. She actually liked the dark gloomy atmosphere. She can't fail at becoming a sailor senshi! The princess randomly grabbed two pieces of the broken vase and started smashing them together.

_Come on!_

* * *

Footsteps echoed loudly down the hallway of Charon Castle as a young woman guided Michiru to her room. The aqua-haired princess followed quietly, staring at the floor. Her thoughts of the castle didn't show on her face, instead she seemed to be thinking of something else. 

_"Michiru, I want you to stay away from Haruka."_

_"Yes, mother. You've told me that already."_

_"I want you to remember it."_

_"How do I stay away from her if she is my partner?"_

_"I doesn't matter, just do it!"_

_Michiru flinched slightly but didn't say anything else. __Michiru looked worriedly at the Queen. Mother seems a little too moody today. It wasn't like her at all. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was messy and tangled. Something must be wrong. Hearing footsteps, she turned her head to find her father and Malachite, one of the queen's advisors, beside her._

_"Now, now, Neptina," the king said gently to his wife. "You are being irrational." _

_Turning to his daughter, the king smiled warmly and handed his daughter her luggage bags. _

_"Now, you go enjoy your trip," he said and pulled her into a tight hug. "We'll miss you while you are away. Your mother and I will be waiting for you."_

_Over her father's shoulder, Michiru saw Malechite arrive with the rest of Michiru's luggage._

_Michiru glanced up at Malachite, her eyes narrowing slightly. There was something about him that she didn't like, but she couldn't grasp what it was. He met her gaze with the cold gleaming eyes of his._

_"We'll be wishing for your safe return, princess."_

Her hold on the violin case tightened. _I don't trust Malachite at all and it also seems that mother is hiding something from me. Haruka... I wonder..._

"Your highness, here is your room," the maid said, interrupting Michiru's thoughts. "You will be sharing it with the Princess of Uranus for the next eight years." They stopped in front of a giant door and knocked softly.

When there was no reply, the maid tried the knob, and to her surprise, found that it was open. Leaning forward, Michiru peered curiously inside.

* * *

As soon as the blond haired princess heard the door creak open, she nearly dropped the glue. Quickly, she slid in front of the vase, hoping that the messily applied glue would hold. It was very fortunate that she had found some glue in her luggage bag. However, she had no idea why she had glue at all. As a matter of fact, Haruka had barely packed anything because she had wanted to start off fresh. She left behind all the dresses and all the other things that she detested at home and brought only a few articles of clothing to wear before she got a chance to go out and shop for new clothes. 

"Ah, Princess Haruka, you must not have heard us knock."

"Uh... Yeah." The princess glanced behind her at the broken vase and saw the pieces were slowly slipping out of the glue's grasp. She slipped her hands behind her, trying to keep everything in one piece.

"Uh-huh," Haruka nodded, pretending to listen to the introductions. _Stupid glue! Quick drying indeed! Once I get my hands on those lying-_

Before she knew it, the Princess of Neptune had stepped in front of Haruka, holding out her hand.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted. Michiru carefully examined Haruka, trying to find some meaning behind her mother's words. The aqua-haired princess frowned softly. Her cold, calculating eyes could not find any thing particular or threatening about the girl in front of her.

Haruka blinked in surprise. She hadn't noticed her before.

"Right," the taller girl replied and hesitantly pulled a hand away from the vase to shake Michiru's hand. "Nice to meet you too."

Haruka put on a wide smile as she shook hands with the princess. If anything, she didn't feel like smiling at all, but she had to keep from looking suspicious.

"Um." Michiru frowned as she tried to draw her hand away. "You could let go now."

_Oh no! What do I do? The glue must have dried! Stupid quick drying glue. Once I'll get my hands on those people who decided to produce such a stupid product- _

Haruka smiled nervously. "Yeah, hold on."

She tried desperately -though she didn't show it- tried to pull her hand away but it was stuck firmly together with Michiru's.

"This must mean we'll be close partners."

Michiru raised an eyebrow. Why her mother thought that Haruka might be a threat to her, Michiru had no idea.

"Should I get help?" The maid questioned with concern clearly in her voice.

"No!" shouted Haruka. "I mean, we're fine. Just fine."

Michiru only stared at the other girl as if she had grown two extra heads as Haruka continued to try tearing the hands apart.

"I don't think we are fine," Michiru commented quietly.

"No, no, we're good."

With one final yank, Haruka managed to rip their hands apart but stumbled backwards and knocked over the vase. Again.


	6. Acknowledgment

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. 

Chapter V: Acknowledgment

"No! No! No!" shouted the instructor as she stood scowling at the two figures sprawled on the ground. Her hands were planted on both sides of her hips and her pale pink lips were set in an annoyed frown. "You will not get anywhere without learning to trust each other!"

"I told her that I was getting the ball," protested Haruka, rubbing her aching head; She could already feel a large bump forming. "But she just had to compete with me."

"The ball was on my side," retorted the aqua haired princess. "Haruka just thinks I'm too slow to-"

"Enough!" roared the instructor. She glared angrily at Haruka and Michiru as if daring them to say another word. "Run ten laps around that field and we will try the exercise again."

Michiru and Haruka picked themselves off the ground, mumbling and complaining. Each wouldn't admit that they were wrong and still refused to compromise. They glanced around the muddy field filled with numerous holes, some big enough to even fit a person. Puddles decorated the vast land and jagged rocks and pebbles stuck out in various places.

Michiru turned to glare at the instructor. "How do you expect us to run in this?"

For once Haruka had to agree with her partner. You would have to be crazy to want to run in this.Their instructor had to be kidding, either that or she was crazy. Which, by the way, was something Haruka had suspected about the woman the first time she met her.

"You will run in this because I told you too!" snapped the instructor. She flung back her glossy jet black hair and sat back on a rock to supervise the girls as they submitted to her orders.

Giving their instructor one last dirty look, the two girls grudgingly submitted to her orders. Haruka set off with a quick pace, easily jumping over the puddles and holes. She fumed to herself at how unfair the instructor was. If she had known that she was going to spend the next eight years jumping over mud holes, she definetly would have stayed home.

"This is all your fault!" panted Michiru as she struggled to match her partner's quick pace.

Haruka glanced back over her shoulder at Michiru and grinned playfully as she saw how ridiculous her partner looked. Michiru's elegant white dress was splattered with mud and she had gathered it up in her hands. The aqua haired princess was also running rather awkwardly as she was wearing high-heeled shoes.

Haruka's shirt and breeches were also covered in mud, but was much more easier to run in. She didn't care how she looked as long as the clothing she wore was comfortable and allowed her to move quickly and with ease.

"I was right after all when I said you were too slow to catch the- whoa!" With all her attention on teasing Michiru, Haruka was not able to keep an eye on her surroundings and slipped on a puddle, falling face first into a pile of mud.

The blonde moaned loudly wiping the mud off her face and yelped when the princess felt someone trip over her body and slam on top of her.

"Your reactions are slow too," grumbled the blonde as she tried to push Michiru off her.

"You two can't even run with out ending up sprawled on the ground, can't you?"

Both girls looked up at the ugly smirk that was plastered on their instructor's face.

"That will be ten more laps," the instructor said silkily and turned to leave the two muddy girls in the middle of the field.

"By the time we finish ten laps, all my bones will be broken because of you," Haruka grumbled as she waited for Michiru to get off.

"Oh, be quiet," huffed the aqua haired girl. Shivering slightly in her soaked clothing, Michiru tried to push herself off her partner. "I'm not enjoying this either."

"Hey! Stop pushing me in to the mud!"

"Girls! Don't make me come over there and force you to finish your laps."

"I don't like her," Haruka confided quietly to Michiru. The princess sat up and shook her head, sending mud splashing in all directions.

"Well, we will just have to do something about her."

Haruka glanced up curiously at her partner. The girl was surpsirsed to see an evil smile pastered on sweet little Michiru's face. Picking herself off the ground, the blonde-haired princess made a mental note to herself to not mess with Michiru.

* * *

"You can't do this to me! I'm your instructor!" 

"Oh? I think we just did," Michiru commented, flinging her tangled hair back.

Both princesses took a step back to examine their work. The wrist and ankles of their instructor were skillfully tied together and to finish their job, the twogirls had dumped her into a nearby crater.

"I hope you will enjoy the rest of your afternoon here," Haruka said with an elegant bow. "I'm sure we'll have fun during our spare time."

"I demand that you let go of me right now!"

"I think we are forgetting something Haruka," Michiru said thoughtfully, ignoring the shrieking instructor. She smiled grimly as she bent down so that she was face to face with their instructor. "After all, we can't have you attracting any attention withthose horrid screams."

"The villagers will think there are ghosts on this hill," Haruka nodded and drew out a handkerchief to stuff into the instructor's mouth. He glanced curiously over at Michiru. It looked like Haruka had underestimated her. Michiru was more than the delicate flower who appeared to care more about fashion than training. Perhaps they would make good partners after all.

They waited for the older woman to finish her stream of muffled curses while shaking their heads in disgust. Once their instructor had run out a breath, both princesses bent over to look down at the woman.

"See, Michiru and I could work together just fine," Haruka said, smiling widely while ignoring the evil glare from their victim. "Yes, just fine."

* * *

Michiru sighed in frustration as she missed the target again. 

She tightened her grip on the bow and grabbed another arrow from her quiver. This time she would not miss. Drawing the bow, she concentrated hard on the target and let go of the arrow. The arrow zoomed past the target and ended up embedded in a tree.

"I told you to hit the target, not the tree," the instructor yelled. "How are you going to eliminate your enemies if you can't aim?"

The princess resisted the temptation of throwing her bow onto the ground and giving up. It was either this, or go home and Michiru didn't want to return to Neptune and disappoint her family.

"Haruka, you could go," the man said, turning away from Michiru. "Take the rest of the day off."

"You on the other hand, you will have to stay until you can't hit the target," the instructor said grimly as he faced Michiru. "I'm going for a break. When I come back, I expect you to be able to at least hit the board."

Michiru breathed in deeply, trying to relax. Though she was unhappy at her current situation, she liked it here at Pluto. She had more freedom here. On Pluto no one tried to control every aspect of her life and she was free to do pretty much anything she wanted. The Queen was really nice too. She could get used to a place like this.

The princess reached for another arrow and drew back the string.

"Hold it!" someone yelled.

Michru gasped and accidently let go of the arrow. Once again it zoomed right past the target and ended up in another tree. Frowning the princess turned to the person who had surprised her.

"What do you want Haruka?"

"I'm trying to help you," the blonde said, walking towards Michiru. She smirked as she scanned the area, noticing all of Michiru'sarrows embedded into the trees. Turning to Michiru, Haruka pointed at the aqua-haired princess' feet. "Your stance is wrong."

"My stance?"

"See, you have to keep your feet in a straight line that is perpendicular from the target," Haruka said showing Michiru herself.

"Oh... I see," Michiru said quietly. She glanced curiously at Haruka. Why had she stayed to help her when she could have left and spent the rest of the day enjoying herself?

"Come on, I'll help you practice until you get this right."

"Why?" Michiru asked. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Er... well, we're partners right? Why shouldn't I help you?"

Michiru looked at Haruka and smiled softly. For the first time, she was truly thankful that she had Haruka as her partner. "Thank you."


	7. I Will Never Leave You

Dislaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

I Will Never Leave You 

Decorative lanterns hung on strings strung above the numerous shops and stands, emitting a warm glow while people dressed in kimonos wondered the noisy streets. The stars glittered brightly in the dark night sky, and the wind whispered softly as it twisted through the many streets of Charon.

Michiru gazed in wonder as she followed Haruka through the vast market place of Charon. Who knew that such a tiny planet had so many people. Michiru struggled to keep up with Haruka as they wondered through the crowded marketplace. Conversations and laughter filled the warm night air and Michiru couldn't help but feel content to be walking amongst them like a regular person.

"Aren't you glad Setsuna let us come to the festival?" Haruka asked, looking over her shoulder at Michiru. The young girl smiled as she led her friend through the crowded streets.

The aqua-haired princess nodded and smiled softly at Haruka. Though she didn't show it, she was absolutely gleeful that she had the chance to come out of the palace to visit the marketplace. Charon castle was really nice, but she still felt some presence of the pressure she felt at home. If she didn't do well, her instructors, Setsuna and her mother would be disappointed. She couldn't disappoint them. She had already failed her friends, she couldn't fail anyone else.

"Hey Michiru, hurry up!" Haruka called. "It looks like something is happening over here."

The two princesses gathered around a huge stage where a crowd was slowly gathering. There was an excited buzz in the air as more people came to join the crowd. Giving a puzzled look at Haruka, Michiru stood on her toes to see over the heads of the people in front of her in hopes of finding out what was going on. The stage stretched for about five meters and was decorated with many colorful lanterns, and curtains, while fireflies hovered in the air around the perimeter. The crowd seemed to glow with excitement as they waited for the event to begin. Laughter and joy seemed to traveled through the crown, touching everyone within its reach. Suddenly all conversations came to a stop as a figure stepped through the curtains of the stage.

"Ladies and gentleman," a young woman shouted as she walked onto the stage. "Welcome to our annual moon festival competition!"

The crowd cheered loudly, whistling and clapping. Michiru and Haruka joined in, both equally as interested.

After the crowd had calmed, the hostess smiled widely, her even teeth flashing. "Tonight, we will be playing for various prizes and hosting many different competitions. I hope everyone will enjoy it as much as I will."

The crowd burst into applause once again.

"In the first competition we will be testing your mathematical skills, the prize being..."

Michiru watched curiously as the people from the crowd went up onto the stage one after another in attempts to win prizes from the many different activities. The young princess cheered as she watched people do the funniest things from performing daring stunts to inventing the most hilarious dances. The crowd was very enthusiastic cheering everyone on and making everyone feel welcome. More and more people from the streets gathered around the stage to join in the fun and games. Time flew by quickly.

"Michiru, look at that," Haruka said, pointing to the next prize that the hostess held in her hand.

"For our next competition, we will be competing for this elegant sword, made by the finest craftsman from Jupiter. For this competition, we will be testing your knowledge of our solar system. Contestants please come up."

Haruka grabbed Michiru's hand as she pushed her way through the crowd and onto the wide stage. The aqua-haired girl paled as she realized she was on stage with so many people watching her. It wasn't that she had never been on a stage before but, Michiru had performed many times in front of others back home. So why was she nervous now?

"Look at all these contestants! Well, we'll start with our first question," the hostess said, walking down the row of people. She reached the end of the stage and turned to the first person.

"All right, dear, which planet is second from the sun?"

"Um," the young boy fidgeted nervously as the hostess smiled kindly at him. "Mars?"

"So sorry, but that is the incorrect answer," the chatty hostess said, patting the kid on the back. The crowd cheered loudly for the boy as he walked off the stage, feeling somewhat elated even though he had answered the question wrong.

Michiru watched nervously as the hostess traveled down the line of people. She couldn't do this. She just couldn't. What if she disappointed Haruka? She didn't want to lose Haruka as a friend. If she lost, would Haruka leave her?

"Michiru, are you okay?" Haruka asked, turning to face the panicking girl. She frowned softly as she noticed how pale Michiru looked. "If you are feeling sick, we could go back to the palace."

"I'm fine," Michiru said, trying her best to hide behind her mask of calmness. She smiled reassuringly at Haruka. She could tell that her friend really wanted to win the sword. She couldn't ruin the chance for her. "Don't worry."

The hostess smiled brightly as she stopped in front of Haruka. "Looks like it's your turn. Let's see how you do. Name one planet that has only one satellite."

"Earth," Haruka replied coolly and with ease.

"Very good, we better watch out for this young contestant," the chatty hostess said, moving on to the next person. Stopping in front of Michiru, she asked curiously, "Out of curiosity why do we have a sweet girl like you competing for a sword?"

"I'm..." Michiru paused as she looked into the woman's beautiful amber eyes. From the corner of her eye, Michiru could see Haruka silently encouraging her. Michiru smiled, before answering, "I'm doing this for a friend."

"Well, he (or she) must be very lucky to have a friend like you," the woman said, as she turned to the crowd. "All right, enough of that. Your question is: Which planet does the satellite Triton orbit around?"

Michiru tried to hide her delight. She just couldn't believe that out of all the planets the hostess could have asked about, she had asked about Michiru's own home planet. "Neptune."

"Correct," the woman yelled as the crowd burst in to cheers.

Forgetting her nervousness from before, Michiru glanced around at the remaining people as the hostess continued down the line. There were about fifteen people left. Haruka and Michiru both had had good education because they were raised inside the palace but their were many people here that were older than them. Though this was only a competition, she could sense a tenseness in the air as the people waited with deadly silence for the next question. The crowd on the other hand yelled joyfully as they cheered for their favorite contestants.

"With twelve people remaining, we go into the second round!"

"Which planet is often called the twin planet of Venus because of its similar dimensions?"

"Earth."

"The outer planets are also known as..."

The hostess skipped down the line, this time with less people answering the questions successfully. Haruka and Michiru once again were able to answer their questions correctly. Michiru noticed that Haruka looked almost a little bored as her partner stared blankly into space.

Michiru on the other hand felt the anxiousness return to her as she looked at Haruka. Haruka had never failed to be by Michiru's side to help and protect her, therefore, Michiru knew that she couldn't fail Haruka. Yet doubt still grew in her mind. Would Haruka abandon her if she could not meet her expectations? Haruka was smart and very talented, was Michiru able to match that?

"A dominant feature on this planet is a crater called the Caloris Basin, this planet is?"

Michiru blinked in surprise as she stared at the hostess standing in front of her. Glancing around, Michiru realized that there were only four contestants left. When did that happen? Michiru knew she should have been paying attention. If this had happened at home, she would have been scolded by her mother. "I believe it is Mercury."

"Correct." The crowd cheered loudly for Michiru as the hostess walked onto the next person.

Her mother had pounded many useless facts and information into Michiru's head insisting that she would need it someday. The Queen hadn't let Michiru leave her room until Michiru had memorized everything in the geography book that she had given her daughter. She couldn't understand why her mother was so strict and wouldn't accept anything less than perfect. However, it was proving useful right now.

"The cause of the reddish color on Mar's service is caused by?"

"The iron oxide on the planet's surface," the young man beside Michiru answered with ease. His calm green eyes reflected intelligence and wisdom, and his clothing showed that he had sophisticated style and taste. Michiru couldn't help but feel that it would be hard to defeat him. The boy turned and met Michiru's eyes. The aqua-haired girl blushed softly at being caught staring before turning away from the boy.

"Which planet has winds that are the fastest in the solar system?"

Michiru glanced at the first contestant, wondering if he would be able to answer this question. He appeared flustered and completely baffled as he glanced frantically around the stage as if asking for help. "Um... Venus?"

"Sorry, that is incorrect."

Smiling, the hostess moved onto the next contestant. Haruka. "Why don't you give a shot at this question."

Michiru couldn't read Haruka's expressions as she waited for her friend to answer. Silently, Michiru cheered her friend on.

She watched Haruka hesitate for a second before answering, "Saturn."

"Incorrect," the hostess yelled.

The crowd groaned. Haruka shrugged before walking off the stage. Before disappearing, she turned around and mouthed silently to Michiru "I'll wait for you." Michiru bit her lip as her eyes followed her friend.

"Let's see if you know the answer," the hostess said as she walked beside Michiru.

The young girl glanced up at the tall hostess, tugging nervously at one of her locks of hair. Realizing that her mother wouldn't have liked it, Michiru dropped her hand to her side and nodded politely at the hostess.

"Which planet has winds that are the fastest in the solar system?" the hostess repeated.

"Neptune," Michiru answered, without need for much thought.

"Correct!"

So it was just the two of them left. Michiru glanced uncertainly at her opponent. It was the young man she was staring at before. She wondered how intelligent he really was.

"CORRECT!" The hostess yelled, breaking Michiru's concentration. "Wow, we have some very intelligent contestants here with us today."

"What percent of the Earth's surface is water?"

Michiru paused as she raked her mind for the answer. "Seventy-one percent."

The crowd cheered loudly for the young girl.

"This planet is considered unique because its axis of rotation is tipped compared to the plane of orbit. Which planet is this and by how many degrees is it tipped?"

The crowd waited with baited breath for the young man to answer the question. He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Okay!" the hostess said as the crowd groaned. The woman turned to Michiru. "If you could answer the question, then you will win the prize. Do you want me to repeat it?"

Michiru shook her head. "The answer is Uranus and 82 degrees."

The hostess smiled sympathetically and everyone fell silent. Michiru could have sworn you could hear a cricket chirping if there was one. Even if there was one, a cricket would have been alarmed by the deadly silence and have run away. She glanced anxiously at the woman.

"Ohh, so sorry... it looks like you win the prize!"

The crowd erupted as everyone cheered the winner. Grinning, the hostess handed Michiru the sword that Haruka had wanted. Without waiting, Michiru quickly ran into the crowd to find Haruka.

* * *

"Michiru... about the sword," Haruka said quietly as the two princesses walked home from the festival. The blonde-haired princess glanced down at the new sword she carried in her hand. The case encrusted with jewels shimmered and seemed to wink at Haruka as she carried the light sword. "Thanks." 

"No problem, Haruka," Michiru replied, glad that she could make her friend so happy. "Haruka... I-"

"Hold on," Haruka said, grabbing Michiru's arm.

"Wha-"

The princess of Uranus held a finger to her lips. Her face appeared alert as she closed her eyes and focused her ears on the surrounding noises. "We're being followed."

In an instant four men leaped out from behind the bushes, holding knives in their hands. Haruka pushed Michiru behind her and drew out her sword. Haruka's eyes were calculating as she sized up the three men. If only they were able to transform but their instructors said that they weren't ready yet. Haruka glanced at Michiru out of the corner of her eye. Michiru did not have a weapon with her. It was better if they avoided a fight.

"What do you want?" Haruka shouted. Would there be people nearby that would be able to hear them?

"We were paid to take your lives," one of the man sneered as he rushed forward towards the two girls.

Looks like we won't have a choice, Haruka thought as she brought the sword up to block the man's knife. The other three men formed a circle that prevented the two girls from escaping. The man struck again and Haruka stayed her ground. The young girl grunted under the force and her arms trembled slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, Haruka could see that Michiru had found a sharp stick lying on the ground and was using it to defend herself from another man. This left only two people to prevent them from escaping. If only they could break away.

Haruka leaped back as the man charged forward once again. She was glad that Yaten had taught her how to defend herself and fight before she left Uranus. Her instructor here on Pluto wasn't bad either. Michiru seemed to be handling herself well. For some reason, her partner had always done everything in her power to prefect all the things she had learned from her instructors. She improved quickly over time and could now even match Haruka in speed. Of course, her attacks still needed some work, but over time, Haruka was sure Michiru would master that as well.

"Michiru," Haruka grunted as she was forced back to back with her partner. "If you find a break, I want you to run for it."

"I can't leave you behind," Michiru said, blocking another strike with her stick. "We're partners. I won't disappoint you Haruka. You mean too much to me."

The two separated again as the men came swinging towards them. Haruka studied her opponent as they both attacked and defended, searching for flaws within his body movements.

Suddenly one of the men came forward, slamming Haruka into a tree. The girl landed with a hard thump against the rough bark of the tree trunk.

All Haruka could do was watch helplessly as the man came forward, ready to finish her off. The princess closed her eyes, waiting for the flashing pain. It never came. Haruka gasped as Michiru crumpled to the ground in front of her.

"Michiru!" cried Haruka, struggled to regain her balance. Scrambling onto her hands and knees, the princess crawled weakly towards her friend. Her face paled as she saw the knife that had been plunged into Michiru's right shoulder. She hugged Michiru's limp body against her chest. "Michiru..."

"It looks like you're finished now," one of the men laughed.

"Dead Scream."

The men screamed as a ball of purple energy came whirling at them. Haruka blinked in confusion. She must have hit her head to hard. All she could remember was calm footsteps walking towards her before Haruka fell unconscious.

* * *

Michiru slowly lifted her heavy eyelids as she felt the rising sun tickle her skin. For some reason, her entire body felt as if she had been run over by a herd of elephants. What happened? Memories of the night before came rushing back to the girl as she gasped and pushed herself into a sitting position. The girl gasped as she felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder and slumped back down onto the bed. Michiru closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. The familiar scent of lavenders filled her nose. Glancing out the open window, Michiru realized that she was back in her room at Charon Castle. 

"Michiru?"

The girl turned her head towards the open door and saw Haruka sticking her head in.

"Come in."

The blonde smiled as she slowly strode into the room. She couldn't say how relieved she was to find Michiru awake. Even though Setsuna had said that Michiru would be fine, it didn't stop Haruka from worrying. It was all her fault. If only she had been able to protect her.

"Haruka, what happened?"

"Sailor Pluto came and rescued us," Haruka said, pulling out a chair and sitting down beside the bed. "She's talking to our parents right now. The men got away."

Haruka sighed and swept a hand through her blonde hair. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Michiru said, smiling weakly. Michiru felt herself liking Setsuna even more than before. When she had arrived at the castle, she had already liked the Queen a lot for providing her a place to stay even though she was so busy with her own affairs. The princess turned her attention back to Haruka.

"Don't you ever do that again."

Michiru's eyes filled up with tears as she saw Haruka's angry expression. "I'm sorry."

The blonde could have slapped herself but decided that it would only make Michiru more distressed. "No, no. I'm not angry at you. Please stop crying Michiru."

"But I failed you Haruka. I wasn't able to help you," Michiru sobbed, clutching her blankets tightly. "I'm not worthy of being your partner, I'm so sorry. Please don't abandon me."

Abandon her? Haruka felt even more baffled than before. Did she do anything that would ever lead her partner into thinking that she would abadon her? "No, I let my guard down, I should have been there to protect you. You are the best partner I could ask for Michiru and I would never abandon you. What makes you think I would abandon you for a thing like this? You really think too lowly of me."

"No, it's not that," Michiru sniffled. "But my other friends... they left me because I wasn't good enough for them. I failed them as a friend and-"

Haruka didn't know what to think of this. All she knew was that she had to help Michiru. Haruka watched her distressed friends through her troubled green eyes.

"Stop Michiru," Haruka said, reaching out for Michiru's hand. "I don't know who your so called "friends" are but I know that true friends would never abandon each other. Your friends weren't good enough for you. They failed you as a friend and I promise you that I would never leave you."

Once again, Michiru found herself saying the words, "Thank you Haruka."


	8. Reunions

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or related characters. Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/Toei Animation/DIC. 

Author's Note: This takes place a few years after the last chapter. Okay, I am told that I really messed Haruka's character up in this chapter so I decided to rewrite some parts. If you have any further advice on how to make it even better, it would be greatly appreciated.

* * *

Chapter VI: Reunions 

"Haruka, you've got mail."

Handing her partner a stack of envelopes, Michiru sighed and flopped down into the couch next to Haruka. She smiled gently as she watched Haruka casually flip through her mail. The first day that she had met the other woman, she had thought that her partner was a clumsy idiot. She never expected that they would be this close. Or that she would grow so attached to her.

Michiru tugged softly at a lock of her aqua hair as she stared thoughtfully out the window. Rain pounded against the glasswhile the wind howled loudly, causing the castle to creak and moan. The princess found herself watching entranced asdroplets of water slowly trickled down the glass panes and dissapeared from view. If only life could remain so simple and beautiful.

"What about you?" asked Haruka, causing the aqua haired woman to break away from her thoughts. When Michiru stared at her partner inquiringly Haruka held up a envelope. "Didn't you get any mail?"

"My parents are probably too busy."

"Too busy even to write to their daughter?" Haruka paused to think this over. Though her mother was always busy trying to restore Uranus, she always used a part of her personal time to write to Haruka.

Michiru chose not to reply to the question. She had already noticed how their relationships with their parents were different; Haruka's mother, no matter how busy, always found some time to write to Haruka and even if it were the smallest letter with only a few sentances, Haruka would understand the love behind the words; Michiru's parents as diligent rulers would always put their duty before their own personal needs. The letters that Michiru did recieve reminded the girl of her responsibilities as a princess but Michiru took it as their way of saying that they care.

Seeing that Michiru wasn't going to answer anytime soon, Haruka impatiently asked, "What about your friends?"

Michiru shook her head. She couldn't tell Haruka that she didn't have any. Yet that was the truth. Michiru never had any true friends; the only people that she had were those who wanted to use her for money and power. They didn't care for her. Michiru pushed the unpleasant thoughts away and turned her attention back to Haruka, who was currently reading a letter silently to herself. Haruka had decided not to push Michiru for an answer to her earlier question, which greatly relieved the aqua haired woman.

Michiru turned to see Haruka staring intently at a letter. Curious, the princess stood up and glided over to Haruka. Her emerald colored skirt rustled softly as she moved across the room, causing Haruka to glance up at her partner.

"Who is it from?" Michiru asked, sitting down beside Haruka.

"A friend." Haruka smiled mysteriouslyas she carefully folded the letter and placed it in her pocket.

"Who?"

"A friend." Haruka repeated, smiling softly. Something that Haruka hadn't done for a while.

This person must be really special. Frowning, Michiru crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, what does it say then?"

"He's coming here for a visit."

* * *

"Michiru," Haruka called, poking her head into Michiru's room. 

"Hm?" Michiru leaned curiously over in her chair and glanced past Haruka, spotting two figures standing by the door. One was a male with brilliant lime-green eyes and light hair that framed his fair face. Michiru recalled her conversations with Haruka earlier and presumed that he was Yaten. The other was a young woman with wavy, bright orange hair that hung around her shoulders. Her apricot coloured eyes and sugary smile made the young woman seem dainty and cute.

"Oh," replied Michiru, unsure of how to react. Remembering her manners, Michiru set all four legs of her chair back on the grond once again and got up to greet the visitors.

"They will be staying with us in the castle. I just asked Setsuna. Come on, I want to introduce you guys properly to one another."

Michiru smiled softly as Haruka introduced each of them to one another.

"Yaten, this is Michiru. Michiru, meet Yaten."

Yaten reluctantly held out his hand and waited for Michiru to shake it.

"I have heard a lot about you," Michiru said as she took Yaten's hand. Haruka had spent the entire week raving about Yaten and Michiru couldn't help feeling somewonder forthe person that had been able to gain Haruka's complete trust. Haruka had difficulty opening to people and only a handful of people have gotten the chance to know the real Haruka.

"They all better be good things, Haruka," Yaten said, elbowing the blonde.

Haruka laughed, before walkingtowards the young woman beside Yaten.

"I have met Mimet only a few times before," Haruka said, gesturing to the orange haired woman. "But each time was extremely memorable. Yaten introduced us to one another and we have been on very colorful adventures in the market place."

Haruka grinned as she remembered the shopkeeper of a fruit stall chasing after the three of them after he caught Mimet and Yaten stealing a few of his apples. Haruka had learned a few tricks herself from them but she never felt comfortable stealing from others. Other than tricks used for stealing items, Yaten had taught Haruka how to defend herself and fight. Those moves have come in handy many times on their adventures and also became useful for her training. Whenever Mimet and Haruka were together, she always learned something new. The orange haired girl was very sly and devious, always with interesting tricks up her sleeve. Haruka couldn't help but feel dispirited, now that she couldn't join them on any more adventures.

"Well, we have a lot to catch up on," Haruka said and slung an arm around Yaten's shoulders, leading him out of Michiru's room.

Michiru ran her long elegant fingers through her hair and stared wistfully after them. Though Haruka does not display all her emotions, Michiru could tell that she was truly pleased to have Yaten here with her. She was happy for her friend but at the same time felt slightly upset that all of Haruka's attention was focused on Yaten.

"So, Michiru, how close are you to Haruka?" Mimet questioned and peered curiously at Michiru's face.

"Oh, I guess we are just friends," the princess replied, turning her attention to Mimet.

Mimet narrowed her eyes and examined Michiru even more closely. Then she smiled, her eyes gleaming mysteriously. "Excellent. This will be much more easier than I thought."

Michiru watched in confusion as the orange haired woman happily skipped out of the room. _What did she mean?_

_

* * *

_

Michiru's hold on her pencil tighten as she heard three familiar voices approaching from the other side of the garden wall. The princess stared down at her sketchbook, pretending to ignore their light hearted voices and laughter yet found that it echoed in her head.

The princess shrunk further back into the shade under her favorite tree. Every Sunday morning, Michiru would come to this particular tree and sit down in it's shade to sketch in her sketchbook. It always relaxed her after a work of hard training and she enjoyed the sounds of wildlife that enveloped her whenever she visited this particular spot in the palace gardens.

However, her relaxed mood instantly vanished when she saw Haruka, Yaten and Mimet walk through the archway of the garden wall. It wasn't that she didn't like them. It was more because that she had been feeling more neglected lately. She would watch enviously by the side as they would talk, tell jokes,or play games. They had invited her to join them, but it felt like she wasn't included at all. Today, Michiru felt tired of dealing with them, and just wanted them to walk by without noticing her at all.

Just as she wished, the group walked past her spot hidden in the bushes without noticing the aqua-haired princess. Michiru sighed and put her sketchbook and pencil down by her side. The beautiful scene that she was sketching earlier was completely forgotten at the moment.

"Well, at least one thing turned out the way I wanted today," Michiru said to herself, burying the pain that was risng in her chest.

* * *

"Where could it be?" Michiru murmured, tossing her pillows roughly aside and searching desperately under her blankets. She bit hard on her lip, willing herself to calm down.She knew that she couldn't accomplish anything if she wasn'tthinking clearly."I couldn't have lost them." 

The princess sat gloomily on the edge of the mattress and placed her head in her hands. Closing her marine colored eyes, Michiru tried to recall where she had left her aquamarine earrings. The aqua haired woman sighed, remembering the day she had received them.

* * *

It was a beautiful warm evening and Michiru -accompanied by palace guards- sat back to watch the market place close at the end of the day. The young princess had thought the market would help her take her minds off things because her parents were too busy to spend time with her. It was her first time out of the castle and the market place seemed very exciting throughout the whole day. From the start of the morning when the sweet smell of fresh baked bread drifted lazily in the air to the end of the day as the princess watched the many shop owners scurry home to their family, the princess had loved every moment of it. 

"Princess, it is late," a guard said roughly. "It is time to go home."

"Can't we stay a bit longer?" Michiru asked, hopefully looking up at the stern man. It had taken her so long to convince her mother into letting her visit the market place and the day seemed to pass by too quickly.

The man shook his head. "The queen said to take you home on time for dinner."

The young girl wanted to protest but paused to think it over. It was useless to argue. Her mother set the rules and no one dared disobey. Not even Michiru. Michiru glanced around the market place wistfully. How she longed to be free and to be able to do whatever she wanted to do for just a day. How she longed to shed the chains that bound her so tightly.

"I really wanted to visit the beach," Michiru said quietly as she slowly followed the guard down the winding path that led to the grand palace. Pouting slightly, Michiru glanced sadly over at the sparkling ocean that lay in the distance. The surface seemed to glow with the many bright colors reflected from the beautiful sunset in the sky.

Suddenly the calm atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of many thundering hooves. Their group stopped and stepped on to the side of the road as they saw who was arriving. Curious, Michiru glanced up to see a band of riders quickly approaching from behind. The riders were dressed in the magnificent armor of the royal knights. Leading the group was a tall man on a magnificent black horse.

"Majesty!" Simultaneously, all the guards bowed deeply.

The king smiled warmly as he quickly dismounted off his horse and strode over to Michiru. His bright cerulean colored eyes were filled with joy as he swept Michiru into a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much daddy," Michiru whispered softly.

"I've missed you too," he replied, stroking the princess' hair. "But I had work to do in other places."

The king was seldom at home with his family because of his duty's but when he did return from the tiresome journeys, he made sure that he made up the time with his family. Michiru squirmed with delight as she unwrapped herself from her fathers arms. She had lots to tell him about. It has been such a long time.

"Could we go to the beach?" the young girl asked hopefully. She knew the guards wouldn't dare object if the King agreed to go.

"Well..." The man scratched his chin thoughtfully. He was very tired from his journey but then, he spent so little time with his daughter. Michiru looked up at him sweetly and he smiled to himself.

"Alright," the king said, tweaking Michiru's nose. "Just for you."

They both strode over to the beach silently, admiring the breathtaking scenery. A million colors decorated the vast sky, waves roared in the distance and the smell of salt tickled their noses. The king had managed to convince the guards to return to the palace so he and Michiru could spend some time together without interference.

"Father," Michiru said slowly. "Do you sometimes feel like a marionette?"

"A marrionette?"

"Do you feel that you can't choose how to lead your life? That you have no control of where it goes?" Michiru stared down at her small elegant hands, waiting for an answer. Surely her father has felt the same as she did now. It seemed that the queen had set up Michiru's entire future for her, whether she liked it or not.

"Well... I believe that everyone is able to choose," the king said thoughtfully and bent down to look at Michiru in the eye. "You are the only person that is able to choose the path you want to take. Some may end up with happiness and joy and some paths may end up with regret and pain."

Michiru paused to consider this, but she still couldn't quite understand what her father meant. She had no control of what path she took, her mother did. Seeing the expression on his daughter's face, the king reached into his pocket and drew a small box out.

"That reminds me," he said, smiling slightly. "I got these from you while on my journey."

Curiously opening the box, Michiru gasped as she saw a pair of beautiful earrings. They were gems shaped like little dolphins with gold lining the edge of the design. It glowed a beautiful aquamarine and shimmered magically in the sunlight.

"These are to remind you that you will always be free like the dolphins," the king said closing the lid of the box and handing it to Michiru. "I want you to follow your heart. There is a sea of possibilities out there and if you follow your heart, it will never lead you astray."

* * *

Michiru shook her head. She had always remembered what her father said those many years ago, but it never seemed to make any sense to her. The princess still felt she was a puppet, being whatever her mother wanted her to be. She had no choice. However, the dolphin earringsgave her hope.The aqua haired woman stood up and glanced around her room. Drawers hung open, bed covers and pillows were tossed aside and accessories littered the soft carpeted floor. 

"I'm sure I had left them on my beside table," Michiru said, running a hand through her hair. The young woman strolled over to her beside table and looked through it thoroughly for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Where are they?

"Oh, it's useless," the princess moaned, slumping against the coldwhite wall. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. "Perhaps -perhaps Haruka could help me find them."

_I hope she isn't busy with Mimet or Yaten again. _Stepping up to her friend's bedroom door, Michiru gently pushed it open.

"Haruka, could you- Oh, am I interrupting?" Michiru asked, blushing brightly.

"Oh, um, me and Yaten are just -cough, cough- talking," Haruka said, trying not to meet Michiru's eyes.

Michiru coldly turned to Yaten,"Could you excuse us for a moment?"

Yaten stared at Michiru strangely and slowly got off the couch. Michiru frowned at Yaten as he walked passed her and slipped out through the door. Michiru didn't pay any attention to him, instead she focused on Haruka.

"You never told me that you and Yaten had that kind of relationship," Michiru mumbled, staring at Haruka. "I thought you trusted me."

"I do," Haruka explained, trying not to show her frustration. She just wasn't good at opening up to others and couldn't find a chance to tell her friend about Yaten. Besides from what she had seen, Michiru was not interested in hearing things about Yaten. Haruka was able to tell -being with Michiru for the past five years- whenever the woman was not pleased with something. Though Michiru was always composed and collected, the blonde would never fail to notice a spark behind those cool eyes and a ripple in the calm atmosphere whenever something angered her friend. "I just didn't think that you needed to know."

"Because I would have never known if I hadn't walked in on you two slobbering over each other." Michiru couldn't bear to look at her friend any longer.

Haruka opened her mouth to explain but nothing came out.

"I guess it doesn't matter," Michiru mumbled, though she didn't feel that way. Why did it make her feel so empty, knowing Haruka had a boyfriend? It just didn't seem right. "It's really none of my business."

"Michiru..." Haruka admired Yaten. He showed her that fate did not control your entire life, that you were free to choose whatever road you walked down. Yaten showed Haruka how he had chose his own path, despite the fact that he was born into a poor family.

Besides the fact that she admired him, Haruka liked how he was always straight forward with her, never bothering with falsity, flattery, or half-truths. Haruka didn't have many close friends and she truly valued Yaten. The blonde tried to conjure words that would explain how much that they both meant to her but nothing came out.

Michiru and Haruka both stood in silence, not wanting to meet the other's eyes.

"Did you need something?" Haruka finally asked.

"I was just wondering if you could help me find my dolphin earrings," Michiru replied, still staring at the floor. Did she want Haruka to help anymore? What else didn't she know? What else was Haruka hiding from her?

"Oh, sure, let's go," Haruka said, and started for the door. She was greatly relieved that Michiru did not push the issue any further.

"Wait, I want to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"What do you know about Mimet?"

"Um..." The question itself was easy to answer, but Haruka was unsure of how to present it to Michiru. How was she to tell Michiru that Mimet and Yaten were thieves?

"Well, she is a nice person, she is great at planning but..."

"But?"

"Mimete..."

Michiru frowned as she felt Haruka holding back from her.She had thought that theywouldn't keep secrets from one another.

"She is a thief," Haruka said finally. Seeing the horrified expression on Michiru's face, Haruka added, "She is a wonderful person. You can't judge her-"

"I just don't trust her," Michiru said firmly, recalling the odd comment that Mimet had said the first day she had arrived. The aqua haired woman didn't want to question Haruka's friends but she felt that something wasn't quite right about them. When ever she saw Haruka and Yaten together, she felt her heart tug painfully as if trying to tell her something was wrong with the situation.

"You should try to get to know her better."

"So Yaten is a thied as well," Michiru commented to herself.

Seeing where this was leading to, Haruka jumped up to defend her friend. She may not seem like it, but Haruka was a person who would defend someone to the very end once you hadgained her friendship. Yaten was no exception. "Listen, I've known him for almost my entire life and I know he is a good person."

Frowning, Michiru thought back to her friends and how they had treated her. Though she had stayed composed and polite whenever they approached her, the once naive little girl had learned not to trust any of them because behind all those kind words and smiles were a goal to gain power and wealth. "How do you know he isn't using you?"

"Listen," Haruka said. "Yaten didn't even know I was a princess when we became friends. Michiru would you stop questioning my friends? I know them and I am sure that they are good people with no intentions of harming you."

"I'm trying to help," the violinist protested, stung by the tone that Haruka was using on her.

"I can trust my own judgment. Michiru, are you sure you are not jealous?"

"Jealous?" Michiru replied icily but the aqua haired woman felt that Haruka had struck something inside her. The aqua haired woman couldn't help but feel shaken by the statement. Was she jealous of Yaten? She was displeased of how much time Haruka would spend with him, the way that they were able to talk to one another and the activities they excluded her from but she wasn't jealous, was she? She shook her head and clumsily regained her poise. "Why would I be jealous of that commoner?"

Haruka instantly flared. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry we are too far beneath you to be your friends. Perhaps you should just leave," the blonde said curtly, pointing to the open door.

Michiru stared coldly at Haruka. So she was asking her to leave? Fine. Michiru stuck her nose in the air and turned to exit, without once looking back at her friend.


	9. Things Gone Wrong

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Note: Thanks for all your reviews. I tried changing the last chapter so Haruka would seem less out of character but I still need help. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Chapter 8: Things Gone Wrong II

Haruka sighed as she snuck past the palace guards and disappeared in to the palace stables. Whenever Haruka felt angry or unhappy, the blonde would visit the stables and seek out one of her best friends. The young girl walked down the pens until she came to a particular horse. The animal had a beautiful black coat that glimmered in the sun and a fierce look in her eyes. Smiling softly, Haruka reached into her pocket and drew out an apple she had brought for the horse.

Ever since Michiru had stormed out of her room, Haruka had been feeling completely horrible. She hadn't meant to yell at Michiru.She just lost control. Not bothering to saddle the horse, Haruka climbed onto the horse and urged it into a trot, not caring as she rushed past the yelling palace guards.

The blonde shook her head. So many things were on her mind. Michiru...

* * *

Haruka watched Michiru stomp out of her room angrily. Her hands clenched, Haruka walked over to the door and slammed it shut. Breathing deeply, Haruka leaned against the closed door and slowly sank to the floor. Why were there tears in her eyes? 

Haruka lifted a hand and quickly wiped away the droplets of water. She didn't mean to yell at Michiru. Haruka had just felt so frusturated over the past few days. She knew that Michiru had been avoiding her. The day that she had walked into the garden with Yaten and Mimet, she had seen Michiru sink into the shadows so that she would not be seen. Haruka didn't mention it but it had been bothering her.

Hearing a knock on the door, the princess quickly scrambled on to her feet. She couldn't let Michiru see that she had been crying. Haruka reached out and pulled open the door, putting on a happy expression.

"Michiru, I- Yaten?"

"Haruka, are you okay?"

Haruka's heart plummeted. So Michiru hadn't come back to make things up. Haruka tried putting on a smile for her friend but found herseld failing miserably. "Yaten, I... Please... please, just leave."

Haruka turned away, trying to hide her falling tears. She couldn't bring herself to face Yaten right now. Why didn't Michiru come back?

"Haruka..." Yaten stepped forward uncertainly. Seeing that Haruka didn't yell at him or react violently, the silver haired teen placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Haruka shook her head. Did things look okay? The blonde blinked in surprise as she felt herself being pulled into a hug. Haruka could tell that this was really awkward for Yaten but appreciated the effort her friend was giving. Giving up to the painful feeling in her heart, Haruka let all her tears flow freely as she clung desperately onto Yaten.

* * *

Haruka clung on tightly to the mane as the horse sped through the training field. She closed her eyes as she felt the wind ruffle her hair and twist around her loose clothing.

* * *

"Michiru!" Haruka called as she knocked on the other princess' door. "Michiru!" 

Haruka grunted with frustration as she continued to knock but found that her efforts were wasted. She wanted to set things right.

"Michiru, open the damn door!" Haruka yelled. The blonde tried not to yell at Yaten too as he was currently beside her trying not to laugh out loud at her efforts to try to get Michiru to come out. "Okay, you don't have to open the door but please listen to me -Yaten, you better stop laughing or else I'm going to punch you. Michiru, I'm sorry I lost my patience before. Please forgive me. Yaten, Mimet and I are visiting the marketplace tomorrow and I would really like it if you could come."

Haruka listened patiently for a reply but none came. Haruka looked completely disgruntled. "Yaten I really don't find what's so funny."

"Sorry, Haruka, but it's amusing to see you yelling at a door." Yaten said, placing a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Besides, has it ever occured to you that Michiru might not be in the room."

"How do you know she isn't?"

"Because she is right behind you."

* * *

Michiru sighed as she walked silently down the crowded street with Haruka, Mimet and Yaten. Even though it was still early, the streets of Charon were completely packed with various people. Children scurried around like little mice, exploring the vast market place while adults rushed by, ready to start another work day. They had the entire day to explore outside the castle and Michiru knew she should be grateful. Yet the young woman couldn't help but feel defeated as she glanced over at Haruka chatting with Yaten. Haruka had been very kind to her the entire day and had tried to spend more time talking to Michiru but the aqua-haired girl decided to distance herself from Haruka and Yaten for now. She had accepted the invitation to go to the marketplace with Haruka, but she felt like she needed sometime to think things over. 

"Haruka told me and Yaten about your earrings," Mimet said abruptly, dropping back to talk to the aqua haired woman. "I promise I would keep an eye out for them."

Michiru stared at the ground in silence for a moment and then turned to Mimet. "A maid brought them to me this morning. She said she found them in the library. I guess I left them there and forgot about them."

Michiru suddenly felt ashamed for secretly blaming them on Mimet the day before. Haruka was right. She shouldn't have judged them because they were thieves. After all, it wasn't there choice, just as it wasn't Michiru's choice to be a princess. The violinist glanced around the market place with a sad smile. Back home, her mother wouldn't have given her that much freedom. She was glad that she was out of her grasp if only for a while.

"You really care about Haruka don't you?" Mimet asked softly, gazing intently at Michiru.

"She... " Michiru hesitated, thinking over the words to say. "She is a close friend."

"Just a close friend?"

Michiru stopped walking and stared at Mimet. Just a close friend? What did Mimet mean by that? Surely she didn't think Michiru was _that _type of person. Haruka was a friend and it will always remain that way. "Yes, we are only friends. Nothing more."

* * *

Haruka and Yaten stopped and turned to the two behind them. "It's almost noon. Let's find a place to sit down for lunch." 

Haruka leaned back casually on her chair and stared at the cloudless sky. The alluring scent of food tickled her nose and told her that the food was almost ready. The group had found an elegant cafe by a canal and had decided that it was a suitable place to have lunch. People chattered lightheartedly and compared their purchases, from the neighboring tables that were spread outside the cafe. Michiru and Mimet had gone to explore the canal nearby while she and Yaten waited for lunch to be prepared.

The blonde haired woman stared off into the distance, thinking silently. Haruka was glad that Setsuna had given them the day off so they could go to the marketplace with their guests. After all, she and Michiru needed time to relax and think things over. She just wished that Michiru would actually talk to her.

_Well, it's not like its my fault that she doesn't want to talk, _Haruka thought stubbornly. Sighing softly, she leaned forward so that the front two chair legs were able to touch the ground again. _What am I going to do?_

"Help! I'm drowning!" yelled a familiar voice.

_Who did that voice remind me of?_ Michiru? No... the voice was too high. Haruka gasped as she realized it belonged to Mimet. Leaping up from her chair, Haruka sprinted over to the canal where people were beginning to gather. The tall blonde pushed through the crowd to the front where the action was taking place. Seeing Mimet wildly splashing in the water, Haruka jumped in without thinking and struggled over to her friend.

The princess of Uranus gasped as she felt the chilly canal water envelope her body. Struggling slightly, Haruka made her way towards Mimet. The princess wasn't exactly a good swimmer either and when she grabbed Mimet, she was beginning to have trouble herself trying to keep from drowning.

The murky water wrapped itself around the two bodies, slowly devouring them but the blonde wasn't going to give up that easily. Haruka gasped, trying to keep both her head and Mimet's above the surface as the angry waves slapped her face. Swimming wasn't an activity Haruka had learned and she was beginning to regret it now. Water filled her mouth and nose as she struggled to keep from drowning. Suddenly she felt a firm arm wrap itself around her and slowly drag the two woman onto the shore.

Flopping down onto the stone floor, Haruka started coughing uncontrollably, spewing out water. Water trickled down her cold face and soaked through her thin clothes, dripping onto the ground. A pair of concerned eyes peered at her from above.

"Thanks Michiru," Haruka coughed. Her entire body seemed to ache horribly. She tried to focus her eyes on the figure before her as her vision slowly cleared. "Yaten? You..."

"Are you okay, Haruka?" The silver-haired male asked with concern as he leaned over Haruka. His clothing was completely soaked and his hair dripped with water. "You shouldn't jump into the water like that if you don't know how to swim."

Haruka blinked in confusion. She had thought Michiru was the one that had saved them. Her friend was an excellent swimmer and was suppose to be with by the canal with Mimet. Where was Michiru then? She quickly pushed herself off the ground and glanced around frantically.

"Where is Michiru?" Haruka asked in alarm. She tried to stand up but Yaten held her down. "Is she alright?"

"I'm here," a voice said quietly. Face paper white, Michiru knelt down beside Haruka. She seemed to be unharmed but then, why hadn't she been there to save Mimet when she was drowning?

"What happened?" Haruka asked, peering anxiously at her friend. Michiru's calm composure had completely evaporated, leaving a shaking young woman.

"I-"

"She tried to kill me, that's what!" Mimet leaped up from her sitting position and grabbed Michiru. Her apricot-colored eyes sparkled angrily as she pushed Michiru onto the ground. Mimet landed beside her and grabbed Michiru once again. Yaten quickly grabbed Mimet and pulled her away before she could do anything else to the princess.

"I didn't," Michiru whispered weakly from her position on the ground.

"She pushed me into the canal!" Mimet cried, fighting against Yaten's firm grip.

"I didn't," Michiru repeated, turning away from the two. Her aqua eyes met Haruka's deep green eyes. She stared desperately at her friend.

"Michiru... tell me you didn't do it," Haruka said weakly.

"I... I don't know," Michiru sobbed, looking away. It all happened so fast. She couldn't seem to recall anything at the moment.

"Haruka, if I were you, I would reconsider the friends I choose if they push people in to a canal once they lose their temper!" Mimet shouted, her face dripping with water.

* * *

Sobbing softly, Michiru flopped down onto her bed. Why did it seem that everyone was against her? Staring blankly at the ceiling, the princess tried to push the memory of the day away; How Haruka had asked her to explain, hoping that there was a reasonable explanation of why Michiru had pushed Fanny into the canal and the disappointment in her eyes when Michiru had failed to produce an answer. 

Michiru flipped over to her side, clutching her blanket tightly in her hands. Everything was a blur --it had happened so quickly. One moment, she and Mimet had been arguing and the next moment, Mimet had fallen into the canal. Then Haruka had jumped into the water and was struggling to pull Mimet out. All Michiru could do was stand by the water, frozen with fear and shock. It was very lucky that Yaten was a strong swimmer or else both Haruka and Fanny would have drowned and it would have been Michiru's fault.

The radiant sun slowly disappeared under the horizon and the princess's room slowly filled with darkness as night crept up on the kingdom. The wind whispered soothingly and the water fountains outside in the palace garden seemed to chant comforting words to the sad princess. Yet their efforts were wasted.

The violinist shut her eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to break out. How did this disaster happen?

_The thick mist swirled elegantly in the vast barren land. Everything was dark and clouded. It seemed impossible to see anything even if it was placed right in front of your nose._

_Michiru took an uncertain step forward. Where am I? Where us everyone else?_

_"Mother? Father? Where are you?" Michiru called, spinning around so that the mist parted slightly. Nobody replied. The darkness seemed to grow stronger, wrapping itself around the princess's fragile body like a hungry snake. "Is there anyone out there?"_

_The aqua haired princess suddenly glimpsed something glowing faintly in the distance. With great effort, Michiru began to slowly step forward, the glow becoming stronger with each step. Something told her that the light was something important. She just had to reach it. Squinting slightly, Michiru realized that it was a person that was glowing. She was so close... if only she could see through this fog. Michiru gently pushed aside the curtain of mist that veiled the glowing figure and gasped as she discovered a person with short, dirty blonde hair and brilliant teal eyes._

_"Haruka?" Michiru's voice was filled with surprise as she stared at her friend. She reached forward with her hand but was suddenly pulled back. Stumbling onto the floor, Michiru felt something tighten around her left wrist. Glancing down, she felt her mouth dry up as she saw a chain wrapped around her wrist. Looking back, the young woman realized the other end of the chain was held by people._

_"What did I tell you about Haruka?" growled her mother. Her sapphire colored eyes burned brightly in the darkness._

_"You are a girl," Mimet taunted, eyeing Michiru with disdain. "You are not suppose to fall in love with Haruka!"_

_"Haruka is mine," laughed Yaten.

* * *

_

Michiru gasped as she opened her eyes. Slowly setting herself into a sitting position, the aqua haired woman reached across to her night table to light a candle. Her heart beat rapidly as she fumble to find a match. Only when she found the match and lit the candle, did she relax slightly. The flame flickered weakly but slowly grew stronger to fill the entire room with a soft yellow light.

Trembling slightly, Michiru leaned back against her pillows to think over her dream.

_What did it mean? What Mimet said back at the canal couldn't be true? Could it?_

_

* * *

_

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to write this. I'll try to update more often.

_

* * *

_


	10. Revenge

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Aurhor's Note: Sorry about the short chapter. I'll try to make it longer next time. Oh, and for those old readers, I strongly suggest that you reread the older chapters because I have rewritten a lot of parts in the story. Er… why are you glaring at me like that?

* * *

Revenge 

Rustles from outside the room caught the aqua-haired princess' attention. Alarmed, the woman slid off her bed, sweeping past the elegant marine-colored curtains and on to the cool stone balcony. Michiru was instantly greeted with a breeze of fresh air. Breathing in deeply, the aqua haired woman glanced around the gardens outside, searching for the cause of the disturbance.

Her gaze fell onto a familiar figure near the flowerbeds. "Yaten?"

The figure jumped in surprise, peering around to see who had spoken his name. When his eyes fell onto Michiru, he greeted her stiffly. "Princess Michiru, what are you doing up so late at night?"

"I had trouble sleeping," the violinist replied, shivering slightly. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Just taking a stroll, not against the law is it?" he replied nonchalantly while glancing around the garden. "Go back to sleep Princess."

"I can do whatever I want."

"Yeah, like what you did to Mimet earlier," Yaten snorted. He was wondering why he was here talking to the Princess of Neptune. Glancing at the woman in standing on the balcony above him, Yaten could feel distrust emitting from the woman.

Michiru stiffened and looked away. Her voice shook slightly when she spoke. "I don't know how it happened... I didn't..."

Michiru wrapped her arms around herself, her back still facing the silver-haired man. "I couldn't have pushed her in. I couldn't have…"

"Listen," Yaten said hesitantly. "Why don't you invite Mimet over tomorrow for tea or something to apologize. Haruka and I could join too if you like."

Michiru spun around, her eyes widening as she looked at Yaten. "Would you?"

Though Michiru wasn't sure herself what had happened at the canal earlier today, she found that she had to make things up to Haruka. If Michiru lost Haruka's friendship over a little misunderstanding, she would never be able to forgive herself.

Examining his nails, Yaten nodded slightly.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Michiru found herself asking the man standing on the ground below her.

Yaten snorted and stuffed his hands into his pocket. "Why are you asking so many questions? I'm helping you aren't I?"

"Yes, but..." Michiru hesitated. What if he was planning something?

Seeing the suspicious look in Michiru's eyes, Yaten said impatiently, "Haruka's locked herself in her bedroom ever since we got back. She's been bottling up all her frustration over the past few days and acting like everything is okay. There is a problem and I'm tired of waiting for this issue to solve itself on its own."

Michiru smiled bitterly. Haruka wasn't one to go around moping and complaining. She kept things inside her and if Yaten saw through Haruka's mask and knew that Haruka was unhappy over the last few days, then perhaps they were a excellent pair. The silver-haired man was also willing to come seek her out to try and make Haruka happy. I guess he really does care for Haruka... Michiru sighed sadly and glanced back at Yaten. She would have done the same thing in his position.

Michiru hesitated for a second before crying out, "Was Haruka really mad?"

After she was unable to answer why Mimet ended up in the canal, she had fled from Mimet, Haruka and Yaten, leaving them all dripping wet in the middle of the marketplace. She just wasn't able to stand the disappointment in Haruka's eyes. After all the time they had been together, why did Haruka not realize Michiru was not the type of person who would push someone into the canal? Nevertheless, it probably had not been a excellent plan to run off on them either.

"I'm not Haruka, why don't you go ask her instead," Yaten said bluntly.

Michiru frowned at the answer and the tone of voice used on her but decided not to comment on it. If it were any other individual she would have considered the person to be extremely unfriendly and rude. However, Yaten was Yaten; Constantly irritable and sarcastic. Despite that, Yaten seemed to be slightly likable.

"I want to ask you a question," Yaten said suddenly, his face turned upwards towards Michiru. For the first time in the entire conversation, Yaten's sole attention was focused on Michiru. "What do you value the most?"

"What do I value?" Michiru repeated carefully. She contemplated not answering him but decided that since he had bothered to come over and attempt to help mend her relationship with Mimet, she might as well answer one straightforward yet dangerous question for him.

"Yes."

"Freedom to be myself." Strange. It was strange that she had told Yaten the answerout ofher own free will. No one else in the universe knew. No one had bothered to ask. No one else cared to see what Michiru wanted; they only saw what they wanted the girl to be. Still, Yaten probably wasn't asking this question out of concern for the woman.

"Freedom?" Yaten repeated in disbelief. Out of all the other answers, why did she choose freedom? "Not gold, not silver, not power?"

"I believe that freedom is much more important than all of those."

All lies. They are all complete lies. He didn't want to listen to this. Yaten looked away from Michiru and shrugged casually. "Well, I've wasted enough time here."

Without looking back, the silver-haired man headed down the glittering path that ran through the palace gardens and back in the direction where the guest rooms in the palace were located. His attention was focused elsewhere as his feet automatically took him down the path.Freedom... Yaten shook his head and looked atwhere his feet had taken him.The young man paused as herealized he was standingbelow Haruka's room window. Soft light filtered through the curtained window, falling onto the garden below. Yaten stood in the comforting light, his face incomprehensible.

Why? Was freedom really more valuable than money and power? He closed his eyes and remembered the day he had gotten the same answer from another girl. How long ago that day seemed...

_"They have everything, money, servants, power! Things a person like me would never be able to have." Yaten laughed bitterly as he said those words. It was unfair. Why did he have to live the day he did, scraping for food day after day while others have servants serving their every need?_

_They don't have everything," the boy following him murmured._

_Yaten stopped, causing Haruka to collide into him. He spun around to face Haruka with eyes that flickered with anger._

_"I don't see what you mean."_

_"They don't have freedom."_

_Yaten laughed bitterly. "Freedom? So what if they don't have freedom? They have everything else! I would give up my freedom to have all that!"_

_Haruka was taken aback._

_"No... Freedom is priceless."_

After that day, he had discovered who Haruka really was. He was never able to forget the betrayal he felt in his heart that day and he probably never would be able to forget. Yaten curled his hands into small shaking fists and stared at the room where Haruka slept in. He would never be able to forgive her... He could never forgive Haruka.

* * *

Mimet frowned as she studied the letter in front on her. She didn't have time left. She needed to finish this quickly. He was getting impatient. Various thoughts ran through the young woman's head as she reread the letter again. She needed a way to finish this. She was so close. 

Hearing a knock on the door, the young woman quickly folded the letter and placed it in her pocket. Straightening her hair, Mimet called out, "The door isn't locked."

A smirk fluttered across the woman's face as she watched Yaten trudge into the room and collapse onto the couch. Frustration, anger, bitterness, many emotions were imprinted across his face. Curious, Mimet shifted off the bed and walked over to sit on the couch facing Yaten.

"I can't do this anymore," Yaten said, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the back of the couch.

Mimet's eyes flashed with rage as she rose onto her feet.

"Are you giving up!" Mimet cried, her voice echoing around the room. "After we have come so far, you're planning to let go of everything now?"

"I just-"

Mimet stomped around the table separating her from Yaten. Her eyes glinted dangerously as she stared down at the silver-haired man. "Giving up should be the last thing on your mind. Have you forgotten everything?"

Yaten opened his eyes and found Mimet's face inches away from his own.Scorching rage radiated from the petite woman. Turning away, Yaten said softly, "I haven't forgotten."

"Feel anger. Feel the thirst for revenge. Victory is so close." Mimet breathed onto Yaten's neck. "I don't ever want to hear you say that you want to give up ever again. Do you understand?"

Hesitating slightly, Yaten nodded and Mimet drew away, seeming to be satisfied. The anger that had twisted her face before had disappeared and she had returned to the sweet young woman that everyone else saw. Yaten smiled bitterly. No one would ever guess who Mimet really was just by her appearance. It was really quite pitiful.

Nodding with satisfaction, Mimet strode away.

"I need to do something," Mimet said, as she picked up her coat and headed towards the door.

Yaten's eyes followed her back as she disappeared behind the door and out into the hallway. Her heels echoed softly a moment or two before they too, faded away.

"Haruka," Yaten breathed softly. The silver-haired adolescent stared out the window and at the clouds that seemed to be brewing in the sky. It seemed so long ago that Mimet had found him alone in the forest on the day that he had found Haruka's true identity. Betrayal and the feeling of pain had been fresh in his heart. It had torn him apart, knowing that Haruka had lied to him. Anger and pain was the only thing he could feel. Nothing else seemed to exist anymore. Mimet told the young boy of her plan to help him get revenge and had convinced him to find Haruka before she left for Pluto to tell the princess that he had forgiven him. After that, they had spent the next few years planning Yaten's revenge.

Revenge… it was the only thing on Yaten's mind back then. He focused solely on finding a way to get revenge. He had convinced himself that he could never forgive Haruka. Mimet had helped feed the anger on until they had come to Charon Castle to visit Haruka. This was where everything would come into place.

Yaten's closed his striking lime-green eyes. The anger was fading. This was something he had not planned on; something he failed to consider. Over the last few weeks with Haruka, he had felt the anger slowly fading away. Why? He had spent the last few years feeding the anger he felt towards Haruka, how could it face away so quickly? Had she forgiven her? Yaten sighed quietly. Was it because of her -the very person that she had hated with all his life over the past few years? Haruka…

* * *

Haruka rested her head against the cool glass of the window. The weather outside seemed to reflect her mood fairly well. Dark clouds twisted and turned in the gloomy night sky, a sign that a storm was coming. 

"Michiru…" Haruka murmured. She knew her partner well enough to know that Michiru wasn't the type of person to push a person into a canal once she got angry. Yet, she had felt doubt when Michiru failed to defend herself and explain what had happened. Images of the uncertainty in Michiru's face flashed across Haruka's mind. What had happened?

_Haruka, if I were you, I would reconsider the friends I choose if they push people in to a canal once they lose their temper! _The words echoed loudly in Haruka's mind. Despite what Mimet said about Haruka choosing friends, the blonde never regretted being friends with Michiru and if asked the question today, she would still say that she doesn't regret having Michiru as a friend. They both needed each other.

A smile lit upon Haruka's face. They would get through this somehow. They always do.


	11. Remember Our Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Remember Our Promise

Michiru bit her lip as she watched Mimet elegantly seat herself in front of her. "I glad that you accepted my invitation."

The young woman smiled sweetly at Michiru. "I couldn't decline."

Michiru forced a smile as she reached for the teapot placed on the center of the table. "Here, have some tea."

Haruka and Yaten watched the polite exchanges between the two women with nervous expressions on their face. Tense. The atmosphere was strangely tense as the two women chatted pleasantly. Even though the words exchanged were coated with sugar and their faces plastered with silky smiles, Haruka and Yaten both felt something else behind the masks.

"Haruka, would you like some tea?" Michiru asked politely, thrusting the teapot into Haruka's face.

"Er... sure." Haruka couldn't help but wince at the coolness in Michiru's voice.

"Sugar?"

"No thanks." Haruka blinked. It was so cold. They were never so polite to each other. Haruka pushed the teacup to the side. "Michiru-"

"Hey, don't I get any tea?"

Michiru raised an eyebrow at Yaten who was grumpily glaring at his empty teacup. "Can't you pour it yourself?"

"No, I want you to pour it for me just like you did for everyone else." Yaten said stubbornly, thrusting his teacup into Michiru's face -unfortunately, knocking over a plate of biscuits in the process.

Everyone at the table turned to stare at Yaten. A silence fell over the four people, as they looked at biscuits scattered messily across the table.

Then Michiru giggled. It was the first genuine smile Haruka had seen all afternoon. The atmosphere seemed to lighten significantly. Suddenly everything seemed much more pleasurable. The birds chirping around them seemed less annoying. The flowers and plants surrounding the table outside seemed more beautiful and even the buzzing of the insects seemed less annoying.

"Fine, laugh at me," Yaten grumbled. He picked himself off the chair and stomped off towards a bench on the other side of the garden. "I'm eating with the gophers."

"Careful, or they'll bite your finger off!" Haruka called over to her friend.

"Very funny."

Where had she heard this before? Haruka grinned, taking one of the crumbled biscuits and sticking it into her mouth. Yaten was really something.

"So... Princess Neptune," Mimet said, her words slow and even. "Why did you want me to come today?"

"Right..." Michiru's giggles ceased as she turned back to Mimet. Her expression became hard to read as her eyes locked with Mimet's. "I wanted to... apologize about yesterday."

Haruka saw a flash of anger spark in Michiru's usually calm eyes but decided not to comment on it. The blonde reached for another biscuit that lay scattered on the table.

"Hum... I overreacted." Mimet said, smiling at Michiru. "I hope you didn't take any offense in my words yesterday."

"No, of course not," Michiru said evenly.

"Here, it looks like you need some more tea," Mimet said as she reached for the teapot. Michiru raised her eyebrow, but decided not to comment on the fact that her teacup was still full.

"Hey! Stop it!" A familiar voice yelled. "Who do you think I am? Snow White?"

Haruka and Michiru turned towards a silver-haired adolescent as he stomped around the garden with a bunch of gophers trailing him.

"Do I look like a girl to you?" Yaten yelled, turning around and glaring at the gophers. The gophers grinned evilly at the silver-haired man, their eyes glinting brightly. "I swear if you come any closer, I'll..."

"Anyway..." Mimet smiled as she poured Michiru some tea. "I was wondering-"

"Ah! It bit my finger! You #$ gophers!" Yaten shouted at the top of his voice.

Taking a sip out of her tea, Mimet ignored the screams and continued with her conversation with Michiru. "I was wondering if your mother had any suitors for you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Michiru asked, her eyes narrowing. Both woman locked eyes once again.

Haruka frowned as she watched the two women stare at each other. The same coolness had settled over the table. Haruka didn't even notice Yaten run past the table, closely followed by an army of gophers.

Clink. Michiru blinked and looked away from Mimet to find her shattered teacup on the ground.

"Yaten, watch where you're going, you knocked over Michiru's teacup," Haruka said standing up from her chair. "I'll pick it up."

"Why don't you help me with these rabid gophers instead?" Yaten yelled.

Haruka laughed lightly. "What's wrong? Snow White loved little fuzzy animals, why are you running away from them?"

"I'm NOT Snow White!"

Everyone -including the gophers- stopped their yelling and spun around as they heard a loud clatter of dishes followed by a soft thud.

"Mimet!" Haruka called as the apricot-haired woman fell to the ground. Haruka rushed forward, scooping the pale woman into her arms. "Mimet!"

Yaten and Michiru were instantly by Haruka's side, worried for the young woman.

Worry was laced in Haruka's voice as she spoke. "Mimet, what is it? What's wrong?"

The apricot-haired woman focused on Haruka, as she struggled to stay conscience.

"Mimet!"

Before falling unconscious, Mimet turned to Michiru, her lips forming a frown. "There is ...poison in the tea."

AAA

"I swear, I don't know anything at all," a terrified maid squeaked.

"So you're suggestion the poison just walked into the tea?" the investigator snorted.

Leaning against the wall outside of the room where the maid was being interrogated, Haruka listened carefully to the interrogation. The blonde sighed as the maid continued to ramble on about how she was innocent. There didn't seem to be anything interesting coming up. Haruka took the moment to wearily stretch her arms and legs. The princess had been there for half the day, watching as cooks, maids, and gardeners traveled in and out of the room, hoping to be able to find out what had been bothering her. There was something missing. There was something that Haruka should know, but she couldn't piece it together.

Haruka frowned as she recalled the conversations she had heard. It didn't make any sense at all. From the bits and pieces of information she had gathered, Haruka had found out that only Mimet's tea had been poisoned. Apparently, the tea in the teapot was completely fine. But then, did that mean that the poison was in Mimet's cup? If that was indeed true, how did the person know that the cup would go to his or her intended victim? The only people in the particular area today were Mimet, Yaten, Michiru and her. Then, there was also the possibility that Mimet wasn't the intended victim, but then why would someone go through all the trouble just to end up poisoning the wrong person?

Haruka shook her head and focused her attention back on the conversation in the room.

"I really don't know anything," the maid insisted. "Princess Neptune had told me to bring tea and biscuits and I did just that. Nothing else, honest."

Haruka heard one of the investigators sigh heavily.

"Doesn't Princess Neptune usually eat in the dining hall?" A man asked suddenly, shuffling through a pile of papers. Haruka strained to hear the maid's words through the ruffling of the sheets of paper.

"Yes, but she wanted to apologize to Mimet for the fight they had the day before," the maid said quietly.

There was a long silence as the investigators digested the information.

"She fought with Mimet?"

Haruka found herself clenching her fists as she continued to eavesdrop on the conversation. Haruka ignored the stinging as her nails dug into her palms. They surely weren't suspecting Michiru, were they?

"... but I'm sure it was only an accident," the maid whispered as she finished the story.

Another loud silence stretched across the room.

"Alright, you can go," one of the men grunted, pushing his chair back.

Haruka watched as the terrified maid quickly fled the room, not noticing her standing by the doorway. Frowning slightly, Haruka tilted her head to the side to listen to the lowered voices inside the room.

"Princess Neptune is the only person who appears to have a reason to want to poison Mimet," a coarse voice stated.

"But she is a princess..."

A large thump echoed around the room as the first man slammed his fist onto the table. "I know that, but this is an attempted murder. Princess or not, this is serious. We need to finish this case before Queen Pluto returns from her trip. We'll look through the information we have now and bring in the Princess for questioning tomorrow."

Haruka closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the wall. Something didn't fit together. Michiru...

"Haruka?"

Her eyes snapping open, the blonde spun around to meet a pair of lime-green eyes looking back at her. "Yaten? What are you doing here?"

Raising an eyebrow, the silver-haired adolescent reached into his pocket and drew out a sandwich wrapped neatly in a handkerchief. "You weren't in the dining hall for dinner."

Haruka's eyes softened as she reached out for the sandwich. "Thanks."

Sitting down on the floor, the blonde took a bite out of the sandwich. Neatly folding his legs, Yaten joined Haruka on the floor.

"How are you feeling?" Yaten inquired gently, peering curiously at Haruka. His eyes traveled to Haruka's hands, the palms bleeding slightly. He scowled, but made no comment. "Did you find anything out after standing out here for six hours?"

The blonde stared at her sandwich, her eyes suddenly stormy. "They... think Michiru did it."

Yaten turned to gaze curiously at his friend. "What do _you _think of this Haruka?"

"I... Michiru couldn't have done it. The Michiru I know would never do such a thing," Haruka whispered. Yet, the Michiru she knew would have never pushed Mimet into the canal. The Michiru she knew wouldn't be treating her so coldly. The Michiru she knew wouldn't have ignored her when she said she wanted to talk to her. Did she know Michiru at all anymore? Haruka cast her eyes down. "How is... Mimet?"

"She... she's recovering in the infirmary," Yaten replied, his eyes still glued on Haruka. "It was a good thing she didn't drink a lot of the tea, or else she would have died. They won't let anyone see her though."

"You'll probably find a way to see her though," Haruka said, grinning.

"Yes, I probably will," Yaten said haughtily.

Haruka turned so that she was facing Yaten. Her dark green suddenly eyes blazed angrily. "Yaten, why do you think anyone would do such a thing? The poison was strong enough to kill someone. To take a life away, that is truly-"

Yaten put a finger on Haruka's lips and shook his head. Though his expression looked the same as usual, Yaten's eyes looked weary. Haruka could tell that her friend was deeply troubled.

"Yaten..."

Haruka blinked in surprise as she suddenly felt Yaten's lips on hers. The kiss was soft and chaste, but lingering. Hesitantly, the silver-haired adolescent broke the innocent kiss and turned away from Haruka.

Slightly out of breath, as if she had run a long race, Haruka placed a finger on her lips. Her emotions were a whirl; similar to the last time that Yaten had kissed her.

"Haruka, do you still remember out promise?" Yaten asked suddenly, causing the blonde to break away from her thoughts.

"Which one?"

"The one where we said that we would be friends forever no matter what happens," Yaten replied, his back still turned away from the blonde.

"Yes, why?"

"No reason." Yaten whispered, wiping away the tears on his face.


	12. Broken Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: I would like to thank auraluna7 and Puffy Marshmallow and everyone else for their support. Thank you!

* * *

Broken Promise 

Heaving a sigh, Haruka stepped into the chamber she shared with Michiru. She needed to speak with her partner. The blonde was surprised to see the aqua-haired princess sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Michiru."

Hearing Haruka's voice, Michiru glanced up from her book in alarm. Teary cerulean eyes met cold pine green eyes. "Haruka..."

"Michiru, I need some explanations..."

Michiru suddenly broke away from Haruka's gaze, and fled to her room.

"Wait," Haruka yelled, running after the violinist only to have a door slammed in her face. "Michiru! Please, I want to talk."

Haruka pounded angrily on the door. Why was Michiru refusing to talk with her?

"Please Haruka, just leave," Michiru begged as she leaned against the other side of the door.

"No, we need to talk!" Haruka shouted, trying to hide the desperateness in her voice. She needed to know what was going on with Michiru. If there was an issue, all Michiru needed to do was tell her and she would gladly help Michiru fix it. She needed to understand what was wrong.

"Please Haruka..."

Haruka stopped yelling and leaned her head against the smooth wooden surface of the door. Disordered strands of dirty blonde hair fell over her eyes as Haruka breathed heavily. "Please Michiru..."

To her surprise, Haruka felt the door slip forward. Stepping inside, Haruka found Michiru sitting on her bed, her eyes puffy and red.

"I don't see the point in talking," Michiru said hoarsely as she rubbed her eyes. "No matter what I say you'll still think that I pushed Mimet in the canal and poisoned her tea."

"How would you know?" Haruka asked fiercely. "I never said that I believed you did all of those things."

"You never voiced it out loud," Michiru said coldly, getting up from her bed and facing Haruka. Her eyes sparkled angrily as she confronted her partner. "But I could see it in your eyes. I can see doubt."

"Well, if you would talk to me, then maybe I wouldn't have doubts about you!" Haruka said in frustration. She curled her hands into fists. "Yet every time I try to talk to you, you distance yourself away from me."

"What if I don't want to talk?" Michiru yelled.

"If you don't talk, how could I believe in you?" Haruka said, slamming her fists onto Michiru's vanity desk, causing several bottles of perfume to topple over.

"Because we are partners," Michiru shouted as tears trickled down her cheeks. "No matter what the situation, we are to trust one another, not questioning the other even if you are unsure of their motive."

"But first we need to build the partnership, we need to talk to each other!"

"You just don't understand," Michiru cried, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at Haruka. If only Haruka knew how she felt. If only she knew how much Michiru hated the way Haruka and Yaten looked at each other and talked to one another. "I want you out of my room now!"

Haruka dodged the pillow but was hit squarely on the head by a hairbrush that was thrown in her direction. This inflamed the blonde even more than before. "Fine, you're not helping yourself in any way."

"I don't need help," Michiru sobbed. She knew she ways really pushing Haruka but Michiru couldn't control the pain and betrayal she felt. "Before I met you, that was how I lived. If I was able to live without needing any support from anyone previous to meeting you, I could do it now."

Grasping a glass bottle, Michiru flung it at Haruka. The bottle exploded into a thousand tiny fragments of glass in front of Haruka's feet. Haruka's eyes widened as she watched the part of the carpet that the solution touched turn black and dissolve the fabric.

Silence fell upon the two young women as realization struck them both.

Haruka looked painfully up at Michiru. "I actually didn't believe you poisoned Mimet. Despite the evidence and what everyone else said, I continued to convince myself that you had nothing to do with it."

Michiru's voice shook as she stared at the poisonous solution that was slowly dissolving her carpet. "Haruka, I..."

Haruka turned away from Michiru as tears filled her dark green eyes. "I guess I was wrong. I really believed that you were innocent."

"Haruka, it wasn't me."

Haruka laughed bitterly and continued to laugh as she exited the room. "You better clean up the mess. The investigators are going to question you tomorrow. You wouldn't want them to find this."

"Haruka..." Michiru whispered hoarsely as she watched the blonde disappear.

Trying to hold back her sobs, the aqua-haired princess collapsed onto the ground.

"You said that you would never leave me," Michiru sobbed as she hugged herself. "You said that you would always believe in me. You said that no matter what I do, you would never leave."

She was a fool to have believed in her. She was a fool to have let herself believe that Haruka would always be there for her no matter what she did. She was a fool to have let Haruka transform her. She no longer feared that she would lose everything if she disappointed the ones she loved because Haruka would always be there no matter what she did. She was wrong.

Michiru lay down on the carpeted floor and closed her eyes. Nothing seemed to matter now without Haruka. The world was cold and dull. The person that had saved her from her terrible life had left her.

"Haruka... I think I loved you."

* * *

Yaten easily slipped past the patrolling guards, his mind in a whirl. He needed to talk to Mimet. Things were getting out of hand. 

Yaten managed to slip past all the guards as he traveled down the dark corridors and to the infirmary. Moonlight filtered through trees and windows, casting eerie shadows along the twisting hallways.

Stopping to check a corner, Yaten entered the infirmary. Now, all that was left between him and Mimet was a door. Why did they bother? Slipping his hand into his pocket, Yaten drew out a pick and began to expertly work with the lock.

With a satisfying click, Yaten twisted the knob and slid into the dark room. He paused beside the door, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

"Mimet."

"I knew you would come," was the quiet reply.

Yaten strode into the room, grabbing a chair along the way and seating himself beside the white bed. He frowned as he stared down at Mimet. She looked pale. "Why did you do it?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," Mimet said, her eyes meeting his. It was surprising how she was able to lie with out batting an eye.

"I'm not stupid." Yaten said raising his voice. Looking around in alarm, Yaten lowered his voice. His lime-green eyes seemed to glow with fury. "You were trying to poison Michiru."

"Why would you think that?" Mimet asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

"I told you I'm not stupid!" Yaten growled. "You put something in the tea when Michiru and Haruka turned to see what was wrong when I yelled."

Mimet smirked. "So you're not as stupid as I thought after all."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing."

"You did not answer my question. What were you thinking?" Yaten growled.

"I was trying to solve your problem," Mimet said, smiling sweetly. "Haruka and Michiru had a stronger bond than we expected. Haruka cannot be yours until we remove Michiru from the picture."

"You don't have to kill her." Yaten's knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on the bed sheet. "Our plan before was to make Haruka lose her faith in Michiru. You-"

"Like I said, their bond is too strong. Do you want your revenge or not? If we get rid of Michiru, Haruka will be yours. Then you can become the King of Uranus. Isn't that what you always wanted?" Mimet asked.

Yaten's eyes widened as his own words echoed loudly in his head.

_"Freedom? So what if they don't have freedom? They have everything else! I would give up my freedom to have all that!"_

"You said once before that you would do anything to have what Haruka had. Money, servants, power..." Mimet laughed. "I am helping you achieve this, why are you complaining."

"Would the poison have killed Michiru?" Yaten asked hesitantly.

"Do I look like a killer to you? Hm... I only put enough so it just would have... disabled her for a while."

How long did she mean for a while, Yaten wondered. If it had been a few months then he would be able to gain complete access of Haruka's trust, but somehow, Yaten believed that Mimet meant a lot longer.

Suddenly Mimet's eyes darkened. "You ruined my plans today when you knocked over Michiru's cup. I would have finished this without anyone suspecting if it wasn't for you. I would have been a victim, and the maid who had brought the tea would have taken all the blame."

"You really had it planned out didn't you?" Yaten asked quietly. Mimet ignored his question.

"But then again, the inspectors weren't able to take a look at Michiru's tea, so she is now a suspect," Mimet noted, as she examined her nails. "Still, it would have been better if I was able to finish it on the first try."

Yaten turned away from Mimet. He didn't know whether to be happy or sorry that Mimet's plans were not carried out. He felt Mimet's fingers clutch onto his shirt.

"We can't afford slip-ups like that again," Mimet whispered, her voice deadly. She pulled, drawing Yaten closer to her, their faces almost touching. "Do you understand?"

Yaten stiffened and turned away from Mimet.

The young woman smiled, Yaten had no choice but to listen to her. He had gone too far to turn back now. She wasn't even sure if any of them could turn back. However, she didn't want to turn back. She was just of the edge of success. True, she had failed but the plan was finally going to come together. Michiru was under questioning, Yaten and Haruka are closer than ever and she had a plan laid out to complete her own mission. There was no way she could fail. She glanced at Yaten and smirked. What was the saying? Killing two birds with one stone.

* * *

Yaten found Haruka lying alone under a tree, staring at the stars glittering in the dark night sky above. The young man silently walked towards his friend, wondering why she was out here at this time of night. He often visited the gardens when he was troubled; was something bothering Haruka? 

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Yaten asked as he lay down beside Haruka. His silver hair spread out beneath him, Yaten closed his lime-green eyes and enjoyed the silence of the night. The cool night breeze blew softly, kissing Yaten's cheeks.

"Why aren't _you_ sleeping?" Haruka asked croakily.

Yaten frowned at Haruka's voice. Had she been crying? Yaten opened one eye and glanced at Haruka.

"I couldn't sleep," Yaten mumbled, trying to figure out what was wrong with Haruka.

"Same here," Haruka replied as tears began to fill her eyes once again.

"Haruka..."

"Yes?" The blonde struggled to keep her voice from cracking.

"I..." Yaten paused. He wanted so badly to tell Haruka. "Mimet... and I..."

Haruka turned to face Yaten, her deep green eyes shining brightly.

"I... see, there is something I need to tell you," Yaten said quietly.

"What?"

Yaten found himself staring deeply into Haruka's eyes. He had always been attracted to the brightness and the rebellious sparkle that decorated Haruka's green eyes. However Haruka's eyes seemed dull and hollow tonight. Yaten blinked. What was he doing?

"It's... it's... nothing," Yaten said quietly. The silver-haired adolescent leaned forward and wrapped an arm around Haruka's shoulders. "Let's just forget all our troubles tonight. We'll deal with them in the morning."

Haruka stiffened at Yaten's touch but slowly relaxed. Closing her eyes, Haruka leaned against Yaten's shoulder.

"Don't forget to watch out for rabid gophers," Haruka grunted as sleep over took her.


	13. Betrayal

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Betrayals 

The figure scowled as he silently slipped into Mimet's bedroom through a window. His eyes scanned the shadowy room carefully. Cheery, pink curtains hung loosely over another set of windows on the far wall of the room. The soft glow of the morning light slowly crept past the windows, illuminating the creamy white carpet. In the center of the room was a bed covered with silky blue blankets that reminded Yaten of the star-shaped flowers found in the fields at home during the summer time. Beside the bed was a simple night table with brushes and various other accessories scattered across the top.

Yaten stepped forward to examine the contents on the table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Leaning down, the young man opened a drawer to find that it was empty. That was to be expected, they did not plan to stay on Pluto for long and it wouldn't make sense to settle in. In addition, he and Mimet never owned much to begin with.

The young man looked under the bed to discover a grubby brown bag. Yaten's eyes lit up as he recalled that this was Mimet's luggage bag. Fingering the lock on the bag, Yaten smirked and drew out a small pick. After a little fiddling, the silver haired man managed to release the lock.

Opening the zipper, Yaten carefully rummaged through the small luggage bag. Sweaters, skirts, breeches, a couple of pocketknives, crumbled bits of cookies, underwear... Yaten made a face and tried to avoid touching any more of Mimet's undergarments. Either than the underwear, there was not a lot that was worth commenting about.

The pocketknives looked interesting though, Yaten thought as he flipped one open and examined the edge of the blade. _I wonder where she got these. They look a lot better than mine._

Yaten frowned as he returned the pocketknives. There had to be more. Years of experience of sneaking into various homes on planet Uranus had taught Yaten many things. First was that things were not always as they appeared to be. Mimet was intelligent. If she was hiding something, she would hide it well. After locking up the bag and leaving it the way he had found it, Yaten straightened up and surveyed the room once again.

"Perhaps I was wrong," Yaten said aloud as he crossed the room once again.

* * *

Michiru glanced coldly out the window as the sun slowly rose higher into the sky. The bright, warm rays of the distant sun were not able to warm Michiru's heart as she continued to stay in her position, her head rested on the sill of the window. 

Mimet. Michiru knew that this had something to do with her. The name seemed to echo in her mind. She was the one who had taunted Michiru about liking Haruka and pretended to fall into the canal. And if Michiru's guess was correct, Mimet had poisoned herself to put the blame on her.

Michiru's nails dug into soft carpet. Yaten... he was probably with Mimet as well. After all, he had suggested that she ask Mimet to join her for lunch to apologize. She hated the two of them with all her heart.

And Haruka. Haruka was a stupid idiot. How could Haruka not realize that the two of them were up to something? How could Haruka not know how she felt towards her? How could Haruka not know why she was avoiding her over the last few days? How could Haruka not sense that she wanted her to spend less time with Yaten and more time with her?

Michiru quickly wiped away a tear. It didn't matter anymore. She would not fall for Haruka again.

The princess stiffly rose to her feet. She was going to find out what Mimet was up too, not for Haruka but for herself. Who cared if Haruka died because of those people she called friends?

Michiru trembled slightly as she held back her tears. She wouldn't care, would she?

* * *

Muttering angrily to himself, Yaten exited Mimet's room. It seemed that he had wasted two hours searching for something that was not there. Mimet probably wasn't even hiding anything from him. 

The young man grasped the handle of the doorknob and closed the door. _What a complete waste of time. _

Yaten paused, his hand still on the doorknob as he saw a single strand of hair fall from the doorknob and flutter onto the floor. Crouching down, Yaten picked up the single piece of orange hair. The green-eyed man eyed the piece of hair and glanced up at the doorknob. There might be something after all...

* * *

"Princess Neptune!" Yaten called as he pounded on the princess' door, a letter tightly clutched in his hands. How could he have let Mimet trick him so easily? The young man hoped against all hope that Michiru was in the room. "Please, I need to talk to you." 

The young man stepped back in surprise, as the door was swung open. Michiru stood in the doorway staring coldly at the figure that stood before her. Her voice was steely but shook slightly as she faced Yaten. "I do not want to see your face or hear your voice, I want you to leave now."

"You don't understand," Yaten shouted. "Mimet—"

"I understand perfectly. Now I will repeat once more, I want you to leave or else."

Michiru turned away from Yaten but was jerked back when she felt him firmly grab her wrist. She turned to see Yaten's serious lime-green eyes staring intently at her.

"We have to leave."

"Don't touch me," Michiru warned as she tried to pull away from Yaten. Seeing that he wasn't going to comply, Michiru jerked back and punched Yaten.

Not expecting the usually gentle princess to attack, all Yaten could do was gape in surprise as her fist struck his face, sending him flying into the wall. Scolding himself for his stupidity, the young man shook his head angrily. I've really gotten too soft, Yaten mused as he pulled himself up from the floor. Though his cheek felt a little sore, Yaten noted that he wasn't too badly injured. His head jolted upwards as he heard a door slam shut and realized that Michiru had left the room. Yaten rushed out after her. Looking down both empty hallways he realized that he had lost her.

"Damn it."

* * *

"Haruka!" Yaten yelled hoarsely as he pounded on the bedroom door of the princess of Uranus. "Haruka, open the stupid door." 

The young man fell forward onto the floor as the door was suddenly flung open. Wincing, Yaten lifted his throbbing head from the floor to stare at a very annoyed Haruka.

"What in the world do you want?" Haruka asked irritably with both hands crossed over her chest. Her eyes appeared bloodshot and her hair could of passed as a bird's nest. The blonde princess was not in the best mood."I'm here at the end of the day, trying to take a bath and you come here to trying to break my door down."

Grunting painfully, Yaten picked himself off the floor. "I need you to find Michiru and talk to her. I've been searching the castle for hours, and I couldn't find her anywhere."

Haruka looked painfully away as events from the evening before flashed in hermind."We- wearen't really talking anymore."

Yaten stepped forward and grabbed Haruka's shoulders."We _have _to find her."

"We got into a fight yesterday," Haruka whispered, still avoiding looking at Yaten's face. "She was the one who had put the poison in Mimet's tea. I saw the bottle of poison."

Yaten faltered for a moment but kept his grip on Haruka's shoulders. He knew that Michiru wasn't the one who did it. Mimet had admited to him herself that she had planed the entire thing. But then... Yaten's eyes widened and the young man groaned inwardly.Mimet had out smartened all of them. How could he have let this happen? When did things get so out of hand?

"Michiru didn't do it," Yaten said firmly. "Trust me on this Haruka."

Haruka shook his head. "I saw the bottle of poison myself. Michiru was upset and she threw the bottle at-"

"Mimet put the poison in her tea to blame Michiru," Yaten blurted out.

* * *

The woman smiled as she picked up a flower off the ground and twirled it slowly around in her fingers.As the woman twirled the stem in between her fingers, the small pink petals seemed to glow as the different shades of pink melted together in a whirl. It was a pity that such a beautiful and delicate flower had died so early. However, that was life. It was the strong and powerful that triumphed while the weak and delicate whithered away. Mimet glanced at the flower again and tossed it aside. 

That was why she needed to succeed.

Mimet grinned as she heard soft footsteps approach her from behind. It looked liked she had come after all.

"Michiru."

The princess stopped a few feet behind Mimet and became rigid when she heard her name. Her eyes narrowed as she examined Mimet as if not quite believing that the woman was here, in front of her.

"Mimet," the princess replied with distaste. "I see you're out of bed."

* * *

Haruka looked uncertainly at Yaten. "But... she had pushed Mimet into the canal." 

Yaten resisted the urge of hammering his head against the wall. Everything had gone so wrong. He had never expected everything to backfire like this. The plan was succeeding but the tables had turned and now it was working to his disadvantage.

"Michiru didn't push Mimet into the lake. Mimet had angered Michiru on purpose and fell into the lake herself!"

"But then..." Haruka's eyes widened as realization struck her. Mimet... the name echoed in Haruka's mind as it finally sunk in that she was the cause of all this. She did all this. Michiru was innocent. Haruka's entire body suddenly felt like liquid. She had lost Michiru for no reason at all. Then a second realization hit her. Abruptly, Haruka turned to face Yaten. "How do you know this?"

This information. How did Yaten know that Mimet had poisoned herself? How was he so sure of himself when Haruka had found the bottle of poison in Michiru's room? How did Yaten know that Michiru had not pushed Mimet into the canal when Michiru herself was not sure of what had happened. Haruka stared at Yaten, her dark green eyes hardening. Yaten couldn't have known all of this unless Mimet had told him. Which meant... Haruka closed her eyes.

"How do you know all this?" Haruka repeated numbly.

Yaten reached forward and put a hand on Haruka's arm. "Please, Haruka..."

Haruka pulled away and glared reproachfully at her friend. "You knew all this and you never told me? Do you know how much pain I went through, thinking that Michiru had done all those terrible things? Why did you hide these things from me Yaten?"

"Haruka, we don't have time," Yaten said weakly as he reached out towards Haruka.

The blonde stepped back and pain flashed across her eyes. "You were always with Mimet. From the very beginning. Both of you were in on this. I'm right, aren't I?"

Haruka watched with dread as Yaten fell silent and made no attempt to deny her accusation. The blonde shook her head with disbelief. This couldn't be true. Yaten was her friend. They were friends for what seemed like a lifetime. They had always been there for one another. "Well Yaten? Aren't you going to say anything?"

Yaten winced at Haruka's harsh tone. "I- Yes, you're correct. I- I came to Charon Castle with Mimet with plans to destroy your relationship with Michiru."

Haruka closed her eyes as another realization sunk in. "You've never loved me did you?"

* * *

"Ah, yes. I took the antidote before drinking the tea," Mimet simpered as she turned to face Michiru. Her apricot colored eyes glimmered maliciously as she looked Michiru in the eye. This was going to be over very soon. 

"What do you want from me?"Michiru could see it in Mimet's eyes. Hunger andthirst for something that she could not gain by herself. Mimet wanted something and needed Michiru in order to obtain what she desired. The princess pushed away memories of how her friends had used her as well.

Mimet's grin widened. "Ah, so you haven't figured it out yet?"

The apricot-haired girl smirked as leaned against the tree outside in the garden. She had really thought that Michiru had realized what she was after by now. Perhaps she had over-estimated the princess.

"I know that you want to break the bond I have with Haruka," Michiru said coldly as she gazed intently at Mimet. "But you are also after something else. What do you and Yaten want?"

Mimet elegantly raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess you're smarter than Yaten. I'll give you that. However, Yaten has no knowledge of this other plan of mine. I actually used him. Haruka had betrayed Yaten and I found him vulnerable and angry. I was able to manipulate him easily.

"He wanted revenge on Haruka, so I convinced him to gain Haruka's love and trust so that he could become the future king of Uranus once Haruka became Queen. However, I found that your bond with Haruka was too strong. Perhaps you even loved her. I couldn't allow this, so I did little things to make her distrust you."

Michiru shook with anger as she continued to listen to Mimet. It was sad how Mimet was so similar to her friends. Were all people like this? "You really are a horrible person."

"But you don't even know the other half of the story," Mimet laughed sweetly.

* * *

"Haruka..." 

"Keep away from me," Haruka growled, her eyes flashing dangerously. Yaten flinched and stayed in his location.

"Please Haruka. I'll be honest with you, just don't be like this," Yaten begged.

"I don't want to hear it!"

Yaten ignored Haruka's words. He was going to tell her sooner or later. Perhaps it would have been better if he had told her the truth earlier but he was too afraid of losing Haruka. This was definitely not the best situation to confess to Haruka. Michiru was in danger and Haruka had just figured half of the story on her own.

"I... Haruka, I have been lying to you over the past few years," Yaten said, looking painfully up at his friend. Please Haruka, please, understand, Yaten repeated in his mind. He couldn't bear losing Haruka. "The day you left for Pluto, I had lied when I said that I had forgiven you. I wanted revenge. So I pretended that I was no longer angry. After you left, Mimet and I started planning on gaining your love and trust so that I could one day become the future king of Uranus."

Though Haruka had pretended not to listen to her friend, she had found thatthe words flowed into her ears. _So that I could one day become the future king of Uranus... _Haruka clenched her fists. Yaten had been using her all along. Their friendship had meant nothing to him at all. The blonde laughed bitterly. Her heart felt hollow and cold. Everything was just a twisted game.

* * *

"I had news that someone was willing to pay a high price for the head of Princess Neptune," Mimet said softly, recalling the information. "Of course, many have failed, but I'm different." 

Michiru's eyes widened as she remembered the attack on her and Haruka a few years earlier at the festival. Setsuna had never been able to find out who had ordered the attack and had been through a lot of trouble trying to get information from the attackers. Michiru should have known that the situation was a lot more complicated than it appeared to be.

She glanced over at Mimet.The pieces of the puzzle were slowly beginning to fit togehter. Michiru gasped as she realized Mimet's intensions. The young woman turned around to bump into a large, muscular man.

The man easily pinned her against a nearby tree.

Michiru struggled against the firm grip of the man, hoping to find a way of escape but failed miserably.

"Yaten had promised me a prestigious position at court when he became king and anything I wanted as well if I helped him achieve his goal," Mimet said, continuing with her story. "But before that, I had heard about the price for your head. If I convinced Yaten to become Haruka's friend once again, I had the chance to approach you and make my move. Imagine my delight when I found an excuse to get rid of you for Yaten. Of course, Yaten wouldn't want you killed but he wouldn't know if it was an accident."

"But why-" Michiru gasped.

"Why would I still want you dead if Yaten offered me anything I wanted?" Mimet asked. "Well, there was always the chance that Yaten would fail. I always have a back up plan. Speaking of which... I think I've talked enough."

* * *

"Haruka..." 

Yaten suddenly found himself pinned up against the wall, with Haruka's long elegant fingers wrapped tightly around his neck. Haruka's burningeyes were locked onto his.

"How could you lie to me?" Haruka nearly shouted as she held back the tears that threatened to fall. "I trusted you. I trusted you with all my heart, Yaten. You are truly twisted to have thought up such a thing for revenge."

Haruka tightened her grasp around Yaten's neck. _So that I could one day become the future king of Uranus... _The words echoed repeatedly in Haruka's mind. Yaten had used her. He didn't care for her at all.After everything that they had been through. It was all a lie.

"Haruka... Please, don't." Yaten gasped as he struggled for breath.

"All this time. I thought that we were friends. I thought that..."

Tears trickled down Haruka's face as she continued to hold Yaten against the wall. Haruka slowly felt her grip loosen. Everything was crumbling around her. Why? Shekept asking herself. Why did Yaten do this?

"Haruka..."

Trembling, Haruka let go of Yaten and furiously punched the flat surface of the wall beside Yaten's head. The blonde felt her skin crack open and blood begin to seep as she hit the wall again. Shie ignored the pain and made no sign of stopping her attack on the wall as her blood slowly stained the once white surface. Why? With each attack, she felt herself growing angrier. "Why!"

"Haruka," Yaten panted as he slid to the floor. Shaking his throbbing head, Yaten tried to organize his thoughts. He needed to tell Haruka. "Mimet... Mimet is after Michiru. She is going to kill her."

Upon hearing this, Haruka stopped striking the wall.

"Michiru," Haruka whispered. Breathing heavily, the blonde turned away from Yaten and ran to the door without once looking back. Her mind was on someone else. She had been wrong to doubt Michiru. She was not going to let Mimet harm her. She was not going to lose the one person that had truly loved her as a friend.

Yaten stared agonizingly after Haruka with tears streaking down his face.

"I really loved you Haruka...you may not know this, but I had fallen for you," Yaten whispered.


	14. Transformations

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the late update.

* * *

Transformations 

Michiru shut her eyes tightly as she felt the cold edge of the knife hover over her throat. The young woman laughed bitterly. It didn't matter anymore. She was nothing but a hollow shell. She was merely a puppet. Without Haruka, she had nothing much to live for except for her duties as a princess. She just regretted not being able to uncover who Mimet really was to the world.

"Kill me if you want, but make this quick," Michiru said coldly.

"Are you so eager to die?" Mimet asked as she fingered the glimmering blade. The young woman tilted her head to one side and examined Michiru. "Well, it's no loss for me. Quite the opposite actually."

Michiru stared tearfully down at the ground. I'm sorry mother... I'm sorry Haruka...

"Michiru!"

Three heads snapped towards the direction of the shout. Haruka stumbled through the bushes, panting heavily. Her hair was tangled and her clothing was torn however Haruka appeared to be greatly relieved. She didn't know how she managed to find Michiru. Haruka had simply ran with all she had and let the wind guide her motions. The blonde was very glad now that she had, even if she had to run through a dozen rose bushes.

Mimet frowned looking highly displeased. How did Haruka find her way here? This was not supposed to happen. Thinking quickly, Mimet came to the decision that she had no choice but to dispose of the blonde. Mimet nodded at the man she had hired to help her. He was to be ready to make a move on Haruka at her command. The man nodded at Mimet and made signals with his hands while looking at bushes behind Haruka.

Raising her head, Haruka quickly examined the situation. The blonde searched for Michiru first. The princess was tied to a tree but seemed to be unharmed. Beside Michiru stood Mimet with a sharp blade in her hand. To the right was a dangerous looking man dressed in a black coat and torn pants. Seeing that they were not making any movements, Haruka turned to Michiru.

"Aren't you glad I made it on time?" Haruka shouted to her partner. The blonde watched the princess stiffen and turn away from her. She bit her lip and tried again. "I'm... I'm sorry I doubted you Michiru."

Michiru made no reply and Haruka uncertainly stepped forward towards the aqua-haired princess with a pained look in her eyes. Michiru, please look at me. Don't be this way.

"Enough of this," Mimet interrupted snappily. She pointed her knife at Haruka. "You are not going to ruin the plans I worked so hard to complete. Dispose of her for me."

The man beside Mimet stepped forward and grinned at Haruka. "It would be my pleasure."

Haruka leapt back as the man charged forward at her, a knife in his hands. The blonde smirked as she watched the man trip over and fall face first onto the ground. He was big but definitely not graceful.

Quickly spinning around, Haruka ran towards Mimet but was stopped when she felt something hit her from behind. Haruka was sent flying in to the ground. The lush green grass cushioned her fall but Haruka could still feel the pain from the impact. Wincing slightly, Haruka only had a moment to think before she felt the attacker strike again.

Haruka quickly rolled to the side as she felt a rush of air beside her. Her eyes widened as she saw a knife quivering at the spot where she had been lying moments before. She looked up to see another man grinning at her.

"Damn it," the blonde swore. How did she miss him? He must have been hiding in the bushes the entire time. She scrambled onto her feet only to find the first man charging at her. Haruka was sent flying into a tree. The blonde cried out in pain as she hit the hard trunk of the tree and slowly slid to the ground.

"Haruka!"

The blonde felt her heart clench painfully at the sound of Michiru calling out her name.

"Michiru..." the blonde said weakly. She tried to focus her eyes, as the two men stepped towards her but all Haruka could see were fuzzy outlines. Clenching her head, Haruka cried out in pain as she felt herself being lifted by the collar of her shirt by one of the men.

"I guess this is it," Mimet said sweetly. "It's a pity too, since I will not be able to help Yaten as I promised."

Haruka felt a cold blade press itself against her neck. "Game over."

"Haruka!" Michiru cried, struggling against the rope that held her to the tree.

The blonde shut her eyes tightly. She didn't want it to end like this. She didn't want to die. Not yet...

Through her eyelids, Haruka saw a strong flash of light. The strong grasp on her was released and Haruka crumpled onto the floor. Her eyes snapping open, the blonde saw a strange pen-like object hovering in front of her. It shimmered brightly, capturing Haruka in its spell. The blonde automatically reached forward and grasped on to the pen. It fit right into her hand as if it were made just for her. Closing her eyes, Haruka raised the pen in to the air and called out, "Uranus Planet Power, Make up!"

* * *

As her men took care of Haruka, Mimet focused her attention on the princess of Neptune. The princess trembled as she watched her friend dodge Mimet's men. Mimet could tell that Michiru had indeed fallen in love with Haruka; the princess just wasn't willing to admit it, or perhaps she was too afraid to. Pathetic. Mimet placed two fingers under Michiru's chin and lifted her head so that they were looking into one another's eyes. 

"Any parting words?" Mimet asked sweetly.

Michiru coldly jerked away from Mimet's hold and whispered, "I will die happily knowing Haruka will kill you afterwards."

"You hold so much faith in your partner even after she abandoned you," Mimet laughed. Michiru truly was foolish. How could she have so much faith towards the person who had so easily been tricked in to distrusting her? How could Michiru still love Haruka? She was weak, and the weak crumbled beneath those who were powerful. "How sad."

"Here are my parting words to you," Mimet whispered, bringing the knife up. "Good-bye."

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. Shielding her eyes with her arms, Mimet was forced backwards.

Michiru felt warmth overwhelm her and energy course through her body. The rope around her slowly dissolved and the princess was free. Blinking rapidly, the young woman raised her head to see a pen-like object floating in front of her. Hesitating for only a second, the aqua-haired princess reached forward, wrapped her fingers around the pen and called out, "Neptune Planet Power, Make up!"

* * *

Her eyes narrowed, Sailor Uranus kept a close watch over the five men that stood in front of her. If they were to make any sudden movements, she was going to be ready. The man on her left charged forward with a knife and Uranus dodged the knife and grabbed the man's arm. 

"Tsk, tsk, this isn't how you treat a girl," Uranus teased. "Where did you learn your manners?"

Gathering her strength, Uranus formed a fist and punched the man in the stomach. Gasping in pain, the man collapsed on to his knees. The knife lay tossed aside on the ground. Uranus kicked it aside so that no one else could use it, her eyes never leaving the men that stood threateningly in front of her.

A man made signals with his hands, and everyone spread out in a circle surrounding Uranus. The blonde tensed, and prepared herself for the attack. Her eyes shifted from side to side, not letting the men slip out of her sight. What was she going to do if they all attacked her at once? Uranus was clearly outnumbered. Even in her transformed state, she wasn't sure if she was able to take them all on at once. As if noticing the same thing, the men started forward. With a loud shout, the men all charged forward towards Haruka.

"Deep Submerge!"

A blue planet-shaped orb sped towards the men, shattering their attack on Uranus. The blonde tensed as she felt someone slide behind her but relaxed when she realized whom it was.

"Glad to see that you've finally joined me."

"I couldn't let you get bullied by all those nasty men," Neptune replied lightly.

The men around them started to rise. Uranus smirked. Even though they were still outnumbered, Uranus felt comforted with Neptune by her side. She felt as if the roaring ocean was behind her back, supporting her in whatever challenges lay ahead. As the men surrounded the two soldiers, Neptune and Uranus moved together, back to back. Each easily blocking the attacks from the enemy. The two soldiers moved perfectly with each other's movements and seemed to be able to read one another's thoughts as they smoothly attacked and blocked.

Breathing heavily, a man spat, "This isn't over."

"Oh, I think it is," a smooth voice said from behind the bushes.

Instantly, palace guards sprouted from the bushes and within moments, had completely surrounded the clearing. The attackers were quickly bound and were being dragged away. Uranus scowled as she saw a few palace guards carrying an unconscious Mimet away. She hoped she got what was coming to her.

The Queen of Pluto glided towards Uranus and Neptune with a small smile on her face. Even after knowing Setsuna for five years, Haruka had difficulty understanding what the older woman was thinking between the serious and wise ruby eyes. The older woman gazed around the clearing before focusing her attention on the two princesses. "You two did a good job."

Uranus grinned, and relaxed slightly. The young woman untransformed. "Your sense of timing is scary, you know that?"

Setsuna just smiled, her eyes glittering brightly. This was just the first step. A lot more awaited Haruka and Michiru. Although she was confident in them, she hoped that they would be strong enough to face the challenges that lay ahead. If they were strong and trusted in one another, then they would find great success. She just hoped that they would not end up like their parents.

Turning around to congratulate Michiru, Haruka's face fell as she realized her partner was no longer there. "Michiru?"

The blonde looked to her left to see her partner striding past some palace guards and through the bushes.

"Michiru, wait!"

The aqua-haired princess paused, her back still facing Haruka as if she did not want to look at her partner. "Did you want anything, Princess Uranus?"

Haruka stood there, staring blankly at Michiru. Princess Uranus? Since when did Michiru refer to her as Princess Uranus? The blonde opened her mouth but no words came out. This was repeated a few more times but Haruka did not manage to say anything to Michiru.

"If you don't need anything, I'll be in my room," Michiru said coldly. Then without looking back, the aqua-haired princess disappeared in the bushes.

* * *

Haruka ran her fingers through her tangled hair as she stared out the fogged up window. Rain droplets slowly trickled down the window, leaving a faint trail behind them. The wind howled and the old castle moaned loudly. Thousands of tiny droplets of rain continued to pour down from the sky, creating a thick curtain of water. The blonde stared outside the window dully. Her mind wondered to the events that had happened the day before. Everything was still fresh in the young woman's mind. 

_Remember to always trust in your heart. It will never lead you astray. _

Haruka frowned as the words echoed in her head. When she had asked what Setsuna had meant by the words, the older woman replied that Haruka needed to figure out herself. Clearly Setsuna had meant to tell something important to Haruka but the blonde did not understand what she was supposed to do. When it came to issues with love and the heart, Haruka found everything to be too complicated. In addition, Haruka wasn't sure if she wanted to face the issue.

Then there was Michiru. Michiru had been avoiding her in hallways and rooms and would not look at her. Haruka had thought that everything was forgiven when they had both battled together against Mimet's hired men. There was such a strong sense of unity. Haruka stared at her reflection on the glass panes of the window. Was Michiru scared of her? What was Michiru afraid of? She didn't look scary. Haruka looked like she always did. The blonde frowned again and leaned her head against the cool surface of the window.

"Michiru, tell me what is wrong."

* * *

"Setsuna!" 

The blonde princess skidded around the corner and continued to sprint down the hallway towards the throne room, with a earring clutched in herlefthand. Upon reaching the grand doors, the princess flung it open without bothering to knock. There was a huge bang as the doors slammed against the walls. Haruka winced but continued forward in to the large chamber.

Light cascaded down through the large windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling on the side of the throne room. The room was empty except for one figure standing calmly beside the window. The woman wore a white blouse and a forest green knee length skirt with ruffles on the end. Her body was bathed in light while her shadow stretched across the cold marble floor. Haruka paused a few feet away from the figure.

Loneliness, sadness, pain. These dark feelings surrounded the Queen of Pluto as she gazed sadly out the window and at the bright blue sky that stretched over the kingdom. Her expression was unreadable, but Haruka could sense unease in the air. The blonde cleared her throat, announcing her presence. Setsuna blinked and the spell was broken. The dark emotions receded and the Queen turned her attention to Haruka with a small smile on her face.

"Did you need anything?"

Haruka blinked, slightly confused at what had just happened but quickly remembered the reason why she had sought out Setsuna. Tightening her grip on the single earring in her hands, Haruka asked softly, "Michiru... is she really...?"

Setsuna smiled sadly. "Yes, she has returned to Neptune. She had received news yesterday night that her father had passed away. She returned home to attend the funeral."

"But will she be coming back?" Haruka asked, shaking slightly. Michiru would come back. Why wouldn't she? The silence that followed her question was unnerving and doubts began to crawl into Haruka's mind. Michiru wouldn't stop her training would she? Haruka opened her fists and stared down at the aquamarine earringMichiru had left behind on Haruka's night table. The aquamarine seemed to wink at her as the sunlight fell upon thesmall dolphin shaped stone.

The Queen felt bad for the two of them. Haruka and Michiru both knew deep down inside what they wanted but were too afraid or unable to admit it. Setsuna studied Haruka for a moment before slowly answering, "I don't know... it will be her decision to make."

Her eyes still on Haruka, Setsuna recalled the events that had happened earlier that day.

* * *

Light from the rising sun fell through the large glass window, illuminating the large, cold room. Light slowly crept up the cold marble floor. Two figures stood in front of the large window, their faces hidden in shadow. 

"Are you sure about your decision?" the older woman asked softly. Her deep ruby colored eyes were filled with worry and concern as she looked at the young woman before her.

"Yes, they need me back home," Michiru said flatly, staring at the floor. Locks of aqua colored hair fell over the princess' eyes. "Mother is also worried because we haven't found out who is seeking to kill me. She believes that I will be safer at home."

Silence fell over the two figures. Setsuna looked out the window at the rising sun, thinking deeply.

"You'll have to face Haruka sooner or later. Running away from her won't help you."

Michiru looked up from the floor with shock. How did she know? "I can't face Haruka now."

"You love her, don't you?" Setsuna asked in the same calm voice.

"I do, but I realized that I can't. I can't love Haruka," Michiru cried, her voice almost cracking. Why did Setsuna have to mention Haruka? Every time that she thought of the blonde, she would feel her heart breaking into two. She would have loved to stay here with Haruka but Haruka did not trust her. Haruka did not need her anymore. She was needed back at home. Her duty as the Princess of Neptune called for her.

"Why not?"

"I just can't," Michiru whispered. The young woman stared down at the floor once again while pulling uneasily at the pink long sleeved shirt she wore. "Besides, I have a duty as the Princess of Neptune."

Michiru continued on as if she was trying to convince herself as much as Setsuna. "It is my destiny. Ever since the day I was born, it had been my destiny to become Queen of Neptune. Everything is already laid out. I will marry an intelligent and capable young man and we will rule over Neptune for the rest of our days. Mother has already found me a suitor. I cannot fall in love with Haruka. It was never meant to be."

The young princess held back her tears as she heard her own words. She knew that this was not the future she wanted. However, Michiru knew that there was no other choice. The Queen had already set everything and Michiru, as a good little princess, was to follow through.

Setsuna bent down and placed a finger under Michiru's chin, lifting her head up so that their eyes met. "Nothing is set in stone Michiru. Here is something I told your mother a long time ago: The future is always in motion. Nothing is set. I'm not sure if she understood it or if she is pretending not to, but no matter what, you are the only one who will be able to choose your own path. Even if you are born as a princess, bound with duties to your planet, you are still able to choose your own path."

Michiru's eyes widened as she heard those words.

* * *

"Father," Michiru said slowly. "Do you sometimes feel like a marionette?" 

"A marionette?"

"Do you feel that you can't choose how to lead your life? That you have no control of where it goes?" Michiru stared down at her small hands, waiting for an answer. Surely her father has felt the same as she did now. It seemed that the queen had set up Michiru's entire future for her, whether she liked it or not.

"Well... I believe that everyone is able to choose," the king said thoughtfully and bent down to look at Michiru in the eye. "You are the only person that is able to choose the path you want to take. Some may end up with happiness and joy and some paths may end up with regret and pain."

Michiru paused to consider this, but she still couldn't quite understand what her father meant. She had no control of what path she took, her mother did. Seeing the expression on his daughter's face, the king reached into his pocket and drew a small box out.

"That reminds me," he said, smiling slightly. "I got these from you while on my journey."

Curiously opening the box, Michiru gasped as she saw a pair of beautiful earrings. They were gems shaped like little dolphins with gold lining the edge of the design. It glowed a beautiful aquamarine color and shimmered magically in the sunlight.

"These are to remind you that you will always be free like the dolphins," the king said closing the lid of the box and handing it to Michiru. "I want you to follow your heart. There is a sea of possibilities out there and if you follow your heart, it will never lead you astray."

* * *

Michiru's eyes filled with tears as the memory resurfaced. The princess reached in to her pocket and closed her hands around theone of the earrings that the King had given her so long ago. "Father..." 

Setsuna's eyes softened as she gripped Michiru's shoulders comfortingly. She wanted to give the young woman encouraging words. She wanted to tell Michiru that everything would be okay. However, if she had said that, she would be lying. Many challenges lay ahead. They would either stand united or fall in to darkness. Setsuna couldn't make the decisions for Michiru, but she hoped that the young princess would be able to choose a path that she would not regret later in life. She had been unable to help her friends, and did not wish for Michiru to make the same mistake Urana, Ruby and Neptina had.

"You'll have time to think this over, while you're away," Setsuna said softly. "However, I hope you would reconsider your decision. You and Haruka are partners. You cannot live the rest of your life avoiding her."

"My mind is already set," Michiru whispered. "I know I will have to face her later. It would be unavoidable. I just can't see her right now. If I look at her, if I look in to those deep green-gray eyes of hers, I know I will not be able to leave her and disappoint everyone at home. I know I will not have the heart to complete what I am suppose to finish."

* * *

"But..." Haruka struggled to find words. "Why, why wouldn't she come back?" 

Setsuna merely shook her head. "For that, you'll have to ask her."

Haruka bit her lip, the sentence repeating itself in her mind. Decision made, Haruka faced Setsuna with a determined look in her eyes. "Setsuna, could you let me go to Neptune?"

"So you're going to clear things up with Michiru?"

"Yes, I know I won't be happy until things are cleared up," Haruka replied loudly.

Her eyes sparkling brightly, Setsuna nodded. Perhaps it would work out to a happy ending after all.

* * *

Haruka's usually neat room was in chaos as the blonde flung various pieces of clothing into her travel bag. Digging through her drawer, Haruka found a green short-sleeved shirt that she was rather fond of and tossed it in to the luggage bag as well. She was leaving tonight and needed to have everything packed before she left for Neptune. 

Haruka frowned as her hands closed around something hard in the underneath all her clothes. Drawing her hand out from the drawer, Haruka realized it was a small drawstring with something in it. Walking over to her bed, the princess placed the small pouch on top of the blankets and stared at it. Haruka fingered the faded green cloth of the drawstring bag. She stared distantly at the item as if remembering something from far away.

Hearing a knock on the door, Haruka broke away from her thoughts and called out to the person to come in. The door slowly creaked open and Haruka heard soft footsteps approach her from behind.

"Did Queen Pluto need something?" Haruka asked, thinking that it was one of the palace servants. Hearing no reply, the blonde shifted slightly in her position, turning to look at the person standing behind her. Green-gray eyes widened as it met the shocking bright lime colored eyes.

"Haruka..." The silver-haired young man stepped forward uncertainly.

The blonde turned away and continued to pack her bags. She needed to finish packing.

"Is it true that you are leaving for Neptune tonight?" Yaten asked quietly. Haruka made no reply. The young man held back tears as he walked towards the blonde. Kneeling down beside Haruka, Yaten watched silently as Haruka furiously stuffed her clothes into the poor luggage bag.

Haruka felt Yaten's familiar presence as he kneeled beside her. The feeling was familiar but no longer felt warm to Haruka. All that the blonde was able to think about was Yaten's betrayal and how much she hated him for it. Haruka reached toward the green drawstring bag lying on her bed. Her hand hovered over it, hesitating slightly as memories flooded back to her. Grasping the bag in her hand, Haruka glanced at Yaten out of the corner of her eye. Hate... hate was a very strong word.

"Yaten."

The silver-haired boy raised his head, his eyes widening in surprise at the sound of his name. "Haruka?"

Reaching in to the green bag, Haruka drew out a shiny blue rock with white streaks over the surface and a pair of amber earrings. "These amber earrings... our friendship started when you stole them from me in the marketplace and returned them to me. They are still very valuable and if you still seek money and power, they will be able to give you that."

Haruka closed her eyes as if steeling herself to continue on with what she had to say next. Opening her eyes again, Haruka continued, "This rock... was your gift to me when our friendship was pure... when there was no motive behind us being friends. When you thought that the simplest things in life were beautiful. I'm giving these things back to you."

Her lips formed a sad smile as she handed the two items over to Yaten. Grabbing Yaten's clenched fist, Haruka slowly pried it open and placed the earrings and the stone in to her former friend's hand. Yaten merely gazed at Haruka with hurt in his eyes.

The blonde zipped her luggage bag closed. Effortlessly picking up the bag off the bed, Haruka headed towards the bedroom door. She realized that she did not hate Yaten. The memories of their childhood were full of happiness and joy. Yaten had given her a lot in life. Haruka could never hate Yaten. However, she couldn't bring herself to forget his betrayal and the dark motives for their old friendship. She didn't want to continue on with the burden and memory on her shoulders.

"Wait."

Haruka paused by the door.

Yaten stood up from the floor, both items in his hand and walked confidently towards Haruka. Standing in front of his old friend, Yaten reached forward, took Haruka's hand and placed the earrings on her palm. "This... is a gift for the start of a new friendship, one that is pure with no hidden motives. I now realize that friendship is more valuable than all the money in the world and hope that we would be able to start anew.

"This rock..." Yaten held up the polished blue stone in his hands. "When I was very young, whenever I looked at this rock, it reminded me of how the simplest things in life could bring you great joy; the whiteness of snow, the song of a lark, and the smile on your face. I never thought much of it anymore as I grew older. There did not seem to be anytime for me to sit down and admire the joy of life. Yet I gave you this rock because I thought that it would mean something to you."

Haruka blinked and looked strangely at Yaten.

"But now, I think I understand. I want you to have this back Haruka. This is for you to remember me by, whether you accept my friendship or not, and I hope that whenever you look at this rock, you will remember to enjoy life as well."

Shaking slightly, Haruka took the items in her hand.

"I hope... I hope you will be able to find Michiru, and be able to confess your love to her." Yaten turned away from Haruka, tears running down his cheeks. Taking one last look at Haruka, Yaten slid out the bedroom door.

Haruka stared sadly after her friend, pocketing the two items that Yaten had given back to her. "Maybe someday. But not today."

Picking up her bag, Haruka paused for a moment to ponder over what Yaten just said.As Haruka thought over Yaten's last words, four particular words seemed to leap out at her, causing the young women to drop the bag in shock. "My... love for Michiru?"


	15. Triton Castle

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: I wrote this in the middle of the night and probably was not thinking straight either while I was writing it. So please forgive me for any grammar errors and such.

* * *

Triton Castle

* * *

The rain pounded down and thunder rumbled as the all of Neptune gathered outside to attend their beloved King's funeral. Endless crowds of people stood silently by the royal cemetery, their heads bowed down in remembrance. 

As Malachite held a umbrella over her, Neptina closed her eyes and listened to the rain continue to pour. "Asuran... Why did you have to leave me? Now that you have left me too, I have no one left."

The Queen laughed dryly shaking her wet aqua colored hair. No one was left... That was except for Urana. Urana... She still was not able to forgive her. She was still not able to forget. Life was cruel. The Queen stared sadly at the dark rolling clouds. They looked exactly the same as the day Ruby died.

* * *

"Neptune, you and Asuran lead the men towards the west side of the castle while Pluto, Zhen and I defend the east!" Uranus yelled over the roaring of the fire. Flames lit up the dark night sky. Thick dark smoke rolled over the town in front of Charon Castle where the invaders had bombarded with fire arrows. 

Neptina nodded as she ran towards the west side of the palace. It was fortunate that Urana and her were on Pluto for a visit or else Ruby would have to defend the palace on her own. After the King of Pluto had passed away, Ruby had been on her own, trying to raise Setsuna and run the kingdom. Planet Pluto was weak and was not prepared for an attack.

The young woman shook her head in disgust, her wavy waist length hair flowing in the wind as Sailor Neptune ran forward. They had attacked in the middle of the night, with no warning. The villagers were sleeping when they were bombarded with flaming arrows and had no time to gather items to defend their home. Ruby, Neptina and Urana had transformed and gathered their forces as quickly as possible to defend against the attackers.

Her eyes met Asuran's. Her King smiled confidently at her as he ran alongside the Queen with equal speed. Neptina nodded and smiled back. With determination burning brightly inside, Sailor Neptune grimly led her larger team to battle.

* * *

Urana smiled playfully as she, Zhen, Ruby and a group of soldiers boldly blocked the path of the attackers. The Space Sword materialized in her right hand. "If you want this planet, you'll have to get past us first." 

"We're not afraid of you," snarled the leader of the attackers. His violet eyes seemed to glow as they reflected the flames that danced in the night sky. Bringing his hand forward, he placed his palm up and produced a violet ball of fire. "You will find us quite difficult to defeat."

"A mage? This should be very interesting," Urana said, swinging her sword up. She met Ruby's eyes and nodded.

With a loud cry, the two forces clashed into battle. Urana grunted as she blocked a blow from a man with her sword. She felt her knees buckle as he used his weight to his advantage and pushed down on her. From the side, Urana saw Zhen charging forward and knocking the man aside.

"You need to work out more often," the King of Uranus teased lightly as he dodged a blow from another man.

"Shut up," Urana laughed as she deflected an arrow with her sword. She growled lightly as another man attacked her on her left. There were so many of them. To her right, Urana saw Ruby fighting off two attackers with her staff. Sailor Pluto should be fine. Urana had confidence in the petit woman.

Slowly stepping backwards, found herself back to back with Zhen, both surrounded by at least a dozen men. "Damn it. This is taking to long."

Zhen laughed. "Of course, you need to get back to your beauty sleep."

Shaking her head, Urana laughed. "Let's end this quickly. World Shaking!"

A large ball of energy formed in Sailor Uranus' hand. Slamming the ball onto the ground, she watched with satisfaction as the ball of energy grew bigger and stronger until it collided with a huge group of men. They collapsed onto the ground. A dozen down, a couple dozen more to go!

Urana swore as she felt the ground shake beneath her. The young woman collapsed on to the cold stone ground. The earth rumbled and Urana watched in shock as an entire chunk of earth rose out of the ground. The chunk of earth hovered and slowly made its way towards a group of defenders.

Noticing this, Sailor Pluto lifted her staff and whispered, "Deadly scream."

The chunk of Earth exploded in a million pieces, which rained down on everyone in the battlefield.

Urana breathed a sigh of relief but felt the relief disappear as the mage lifted his hands and conjured a dozen arrows in the air. Sweeping his hands, the arrows shot forward onto the unsuspecting men below. She felt Zhen approach her side and blocked a rainfall of arrows with his shield. He turned around to face Uranus and smiled. "I wonder what our mage is up to?"

Urana growled as the earth beneath her shook once again. Whipping her head around she saw the violet eyed man raising his hands in the air. A strong aura surrounded him as he called on his magic once again.

"Uranus!"

Sailor Uranus scrambled on her feet as she vines bursts out from the ground and wrapped themselves around Sailor Pluto. Her time staff clattered onto the ground. The crimson eyed woman cried in pain as the vines tightened their hold around her petit body and lifted her up into the air.

Lifting her sword, Uranus cried out, "Space Sword Blaster!"

Their was a small explosion as the blast from her sword hit the root of the vines, causing dust to gather up in the air. The dust cleared and Uranus's eyes widened as the dust revealed the vines to be unharmed.

"It's no use," laughed the mage. "Your friend is mine unless you surrender to us."

The violet eyed man faced Uranus, his calm eyes meeting Uranus' blazing emerald orbs. Smirking softly, the man made a symbol with his hands, causing the vines to glow a blood red color. Ruby screamed out in pain once again.

"Ruby!" Urana yelled as she ran forward. She had to save her friend. The woman was blocked by a rainfall of arrows that rained down in front of her. Uranus bristled with anger. "Don't you dare hurt her!"

"Surrender to me."

Urana curled her hands into fists. It was their duty to protect the solar system. She couldn't let the invaders win. However, they still had other chances. They were currently just after planet Pluto. They could surrender and regroup on planet Neptune. The forces were stronger there. The blonde let the information roll over in her mind. Yet, giving up Pluto would mean that their enemies forces would grow larger as well. Urana glanced from Ruby to the enemy. What was she to do? The blonde was saved from making the decision when she heard Sailor Pluto's voice.

"Urana..."

The blonde turned to face the petite woman wrapped up in the vines. Ruby's tired crimson eyes shook Urana's soul. Ruby appeared much more tired than she usually was after the death of the King of Pluto. Her bright eyes had dulled and her spirit had dwindled. Yet she continued to fulfill her duty's as Queen and raise Setsuna to the best of her abilities. Urana stared deeply at Ruby as if searching for something.

"Urana... You can not give up Pluto. Please... If you have to, give me up to the enemy. It is no loss for us. Me for the lives of thousands. Do what you must."

"Ruby... You cannot give up like this," Urana argued passionately. "You may have lost your King, but you have a daughter, Neptina and me!"

"Setsuna is old enough to take care of herself. I have taught her everything I known..." Ruby winced in pain as the vines slowly tightened. "Please Urana. This will be my last duty as the Queen of Pluto."

Urana looked deeply into Ruby's eyes. "Ruby..."

"You are wasting time," the mage called out. "This woman or the planet, which do you want?"

* * *

Sailor Neptune raced towards the direction of her comrades as she finished her battle. Her muscles burned and her entire body ached. Bruises and cuts littered her arms and legs, and her sailor outfit was ripped and burned in various places but Neptina knew that her friends needed her. "Asuran, you finish this up, I'm going to help Ruby and Urana." 

Neptina raced towards the direction of her friends. She could sense that something was wrong. Out of the three, Neptina was the one who was best attuned to her surroundings. Whenever one of them was in trouble, Neptina was the first to know. Right now, there was this horrible feeling creeping up on the woman. It seemed as if she was suffocating in this feeling. Her friends were in deep need of her aid.

"You are wasting time. This woman or the planet, which do you want?"

Sailor Neptune approached the clearing to find bodies littered all over the ground. In the center of the field stood a man with his hands raised in the air. His body glowed brightly and he seemed to emit a powerful aura. Nearby, Neptina could make out a figure suspended by vines that had burst out of the ground. The aqua-haired woman's heart leaped as she recognized the person. Ruby...

"Well, what is your answer young warrior?"

Neptina's gaze fell onto Sailor Uranus. She knew what her partner would choose. The situation was bad but they still had hope. They could regroup. They could reclaim Pluto. Urana wouldn't let Ruby die.

"I do not have unlimited patience. What is your answer?"

Urana tightened her grip on her Space Sword. "My answer? Eat my Space Sword!"

Angrily, the blonde swung her blade at the mage, sending a large blast in the man's direction. The wind howled loudly as the blast met the man. Quickly, the mage brought up a shield to cover his body. The two forces struggled for a moment before the blast from the space sword reflected upon Urana. Rolling aside, Urana panted heavily as she watched her attack travel past her, and exploded in the field nearby.

"I guess she is no use to me anymore," the mage panted as he closed his fists, causing thorns to explode from out of the vines.

"Ruby!"

Urana turned to find Neptune running towards them, tears streaking down her elegant face. Her battle uniform was in shreds and Neptina looked worse for wear yet she battle her way down the slope, knocking men out of the way as she fought towards Sailor Pluto.

"Have you forgotten about me?" A voice whispered as the violet eyed mage appeared beside Urana and snapped his fingers. Vines leaped out from the ground and wrapped themselves around Uranus. The blonde just watched numbly as the plants took over her body. She had failed. Ruby had sacrificed herself for nothing. Urana knew that she should be fighting against the vines, she knew that she should be doing something but nothing seemed to matter at the moment.

"You're next, my dear," the mage whispered tilting Urana's chin upwards to face him. "Such a pity that such a pretty thing like you will have to die."

Haruka just stared numbly at the mage.

"Not if I have something to say about it!"

The mage gasped as a sword was plunged through his back. His eyes wide with disbelief, the mage collapsed onto the ground. Behind him, Zhen drew out his sword and made his way towards Urana. "Are you all right?"

Urana nodded numbly as Zhen pulled at the withering vines. Frowning slightly, Zhen pulled Urana up and dragged her away from the mage's dead body. "Urana?"

"She was dying... She didn't have the will to live anymore. She wanted to die. She was expecting it, that was why she had taught everything she had known to Setsuna." Urana mumbled, ignoring Zhen's worried stares. "But she had us. She was willing to leave us behind. Why? She still had us to live for!" The blonde looked into Zhen's eyes, her eyes questioning.

Zhen felt Urana's despair and pulled her into a hug. He didn't want her to suffer alone. The least he could do was be by his Queen's side at her time of need. Zhen felt Urana bury her face in his shirt. Patting her back, Zhen whispered quietly, "It'll be all right."

"But Ruby is dead..." Urana said, tears trickling down her face.

Thunder rumbled in the sky. Huge clouds swirled above the bloody battlefield, engulfing everyone in darkness. The first few droplets of rain gently hit the ground below and was quickly followed by a shower of water droplets. Urana closed her eyes as she felt the blood from the battle wash off her skin. The fire was slowly receding and the smoke had cleared. The battle was over. Out of the corner of her eye, Urana could see her army gathering up the attackers.

To her right she could hear sniffling as Sailor Neptune pulled angrily at the vines that had wrapped themselves around Pluto's body. Sobbing quietly, Neptune brought the lifeless body in to her arms, not caring as blood from Pluto covered Neptune's own body. Blood dribbled onto the ground, staining the dark earth. "Pluto..."

Struggling to her feet, Uranus walked over to Neptune. "Neptina..."

As the lifeless body slowly disappeared, Neptune got up and walked towards Uranus. Her wet clothes were plastered onto her elegant body, but Neptune didn't show that she was cold. Deep locks of aqua colored hair fell over the warrior's eyes. Urana looked up to meet Neptune's eyes. The deep blue were emotionless as she looked at her partner. Bringing a blood stained glove up, Neptina slapped Uranus across the face. Everyone in the clearing watched in shock as Uranus brought her hand up over the spot where Neptune had struck her.

"How could you sacrifice a friend like that?" Neptune yelled, tears pouring down her face. Her yells were drowned out by the howling wind but Urana could sense the anger and pain in her friend. Urana numbly focused on Neptina's yells. "I was so sure that you would choose to surrender than to let Ruby die! How long have we known one another?"

"Neptina... Please listen. I could explain."

"Explain? There is nothing to explain! I saw everything!"

"There is nothing to explain!" Neptina cried. Curling her hands into fists, she punched Urana, sending her flying onto the ground. The mud cushioned her fall, as Urana slid across the ground. The dark muddy substance coated Urana's entire body.

The blonde angrily pushed herself off the ground. Ruby had abandoned them and now Neptina was acting as if it was all her fault. Urana yelled angrily, venting her frustration at Neptina. The blonde punched Neptina in the stomach and pinned the smaller woman onto the ground. "Listen, I am not in the mood for your temper tantrums."

"Temper tantrum? You killed Ruby and call this a temper tantrum?" Neptina shrieked fighting against Urana's grip. She kicked out, crying angrily. Her deep blue eyes met Urana's pale gray orbs. "You killed Ruby!"

Urana closed her eyes and let the cold rain wash over her body. Was she a murderer then? Her heart clenched painfully. Urana had loved Ruby deeply. They had been friends for what seemed to be the longest time. They had always been there for one another. Ruby was gone now... Was the decision she made wrong? Urana remembered Ruby's pleading eyes and her weary body slumped as she was wrapped in the vines. To the right, Urana could make out the time staff that Ruby always had with her and felt her eyes fill with tears. This wasn't how she imagined how she would spend the rest of her days.

Urana lifted her head on time to see the mage stumble onto his feet and raise his hand. The warrior cursed and leaped off Neptune. Both warriors sprung into action, each dodging balls of fire that were shot in their direction.

"World Shaking!" Sailor Uranus cried, targeting the ball at the mage. Smirking softly the man disappeared. The two warriors looked wildly around, searching for the mage.

"Looking for me?" The man whispered as he appeared behind Uranus.

The blonde gasped as she felt a blast send her sprawling onto the ground. She felt the mage kneel down beside her and place a cool hand over her head. "Good bye."

Closing her eyes, Urana waited for the pain that never came. Hearing a surprised scream, the blonde turned her head to see Zhen ramming the mage onto the ground.

"I thought I killed you," Zhen grunted, as he lifted his sword.

"You obviously thought wrong," the violet eyed man panted, his hand clutched over the wound in his chest made by Zhen. Blood slowly seeped from his wound and trickled onto the ground. His eyes darted from Zhen to Urana. Zhen stood in the ready position, prepared for any attack. Smirking softly, his eyes drifted to Urana who was panting heavily on all fours.

Reading the enemy's mind, Zhen's eyes widened. Both men raced to Urana's direction, both trudging through the thick mud. The mage called on his last bit of magic, forming a glimmering dagger in his hand. Urana screamed as Zhen thrust himself in front of her. Blood splattered in the air and the Zhen collapsed onto the floor. The last of his strength used up, the mage collapsed alongside Zhen.

Sobbing softly, Urana gathered Zhen in her arms. "No... Why, why did you do it?"

Smiling, Zhen reached up to touch Urana's wet face. The rain continued to pour down and Zhen ran his fingers through Urana's wet hair. "Because I love you."

The blonde shook her head in frustration. She loved Zhen with all her heart. She couldn't imagine a world without him. He couldn't leave her. Urana gripped him tightly, as if willing him not to die. However, deep down inside, Urana knew it was no use. It felt as if a dagger had plunged into her own heart. Urana buried her face in the crook of Zhen's neck. "Please don't leave me..."

"Be strong... And take care of Haruka." Looking up at Neptina who was standing beside Urana, Zhen formed a soft smile. "Take care of Urana for me Neptina."

Urana nodded, though not quite registering the words that Zhen had just said. Her entire body was numb and her brain felt like it was frozen and unable to work properly.

"Neptina?"

Neptina turned away from Zhen, angry tears trickling down her face. Zhen couldn't die. They had been together for what seemed like forever. It was impossible to imagine life without Zhen and Ruby.

"Please, promise me you'll take care of Urana."

Neptina didn't say anything. Her hands shook as she swept back a lock of aqua hair from covering her eyes. "I will do what I can."

Satisfied, Zhen closed his eyes for the last time. "Thank you."

Urana hugged the lifeless body tightly until it completely disappeared. "Zhen..."

Neptina stood beside Urana, watching silently as the blonde cried. Feeling that she should at least put out some effort for the promise she made to Zhen, Neptina called out weakly, "Get up Urana."

"I'm going to stay here." Urana replied coldly.

"For how long?" Neptina asked coldly. "Until Zhen and Ruby come back to life? Do you want to end up like them?"

Urana made no reply and Neptina felt anger serge through her entire body. Grabbing the collar of Uranus' sailor uniform, she lifted him off the ground with strength she didn't know she had and slapped her across the face. "So you just want to lay here and die? Is that what you want?"

Uranus reached out and captured Neptina's wrist in her hand. The woman struggled, hitting and kicking at Urana angrily.

"They all died because of you. I cared deeply about them all. And they all died because of you! You don't even seem to care! I hate you Urana! I hate you!"

Eyes widening, Uranus released her grip on Neptune and stepped back.

"The promise I made to Zhen is something I won't be able to keep," Neptina said softly, her eyes cast downwards. The two figures stayed in their position in silence, as the rain enveloped them and their friendship was torn apart.

* * *

Neptina sighed softly as she stared at Asuran's grave. If only things had turned out differently that day. If she had been paired with Ruby, would things have turned out differently? Breathing in deeply, Neptina pushed back the past memories and focused on the present.

* * *

"That was some ride," a man complained as he staggered off the ship. 

Grabbing on to her luggage bags, Haruka followed the string of passengers as they eagerly exited. The blonde felt a little light headed after the day long journey and the steering of the captain didn't help either. However, after landing on Neptune, Haruka felt her dark mood disappear as she stood by the dock in complete awe.

The first thing Haruka noticed when she stepped on to the planet Neptune was its beauty. The sky was like a big blue marble with streaks of white running across the surface. Emerald green trees swayed peacefully in the light breeze and Haruka couldn't help but to step back and admire her surroundings.

"You're Haruka, correct?"

The blonde broke out of her trance to find a middle aged man with silver colored hair standing in front of her. He wore a deep blue tunic that accented his eyes and a light pair of pants. His sapphire eyes sparkled warmly as he looked over Haruka. If Haruka didn't know better, she would think he was an average man on the planet.

"Yes, and you must be Souichi."

The man nodded and motioned for Haruka to follow him. "Setsuna says you need a way to get into Triton Palace."

Haruka nodded as she strode beside Souichi. From what Queen Pluto had told her, Souichi was one of the professors that worked in the palace. He was highly regarded by the people of Neptune and even Queen Neptune herself went to him for advice. Setsuna was sure that Souichi could get Haruka into the palace without any questions asked. From what the blonde had heard, the Queen of Neptune wasn't too fond of the royal family of Uranus and didn't want Haruka within a ten kilometer radius of Michiru if she could help it. Therefore, Haruka could not enter the palace as Princess Uranus and Setsuna had devised a plan for her to sneak in without getting noticed.

"The best thing I could offer is for you to work in the castle as one of my assistants," Souichi said as he led Haruka through the crowded marketplace. "Your ranking will be slightly higher than the maids and servants but you will still need to take commands from those that are higher than you and work as well. You won't mind dressing as a boy would you? It would be harder for others to tell who you really are."

"It's okay," Haruka said as she stepped aside for a couple of children that ran past her. "I'm also aware of the policies inside the palace as well."

The professor regarded Haruka for a moment before chuckling softly. "Of course, I completely forgot who you were for a moment. There is just something about you that makes people forget that you are actually a princess."

Haruka raised an eyebrow, not knowing whether to take Souichi's comment as a compliment or an insult.

The two exited the noisy marketplace and traveled down a long elegant stone pathway. Sparkling marble fountains and tall green trees decorated the path empty pathway. Occasionally, the two would meet palace guards traveling down the path who would nod at Souichi.

"Almost there."

Haruka just nodded. Back at home, they didn't have a pathway that long leading to the castle. If they had, Haruka might not have gone out adventuring as often as she had. Not that she would tell her mother that in case she decided to install one just to keep Haruka home in the future.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the front gate of the palace.

"Halt. State your name and business," A guard beside the gate called. The man blinked and quickly bowed his head as he saw Souichi. "Sorry professor, I didn't recognize you there."

"No problem," the man replied lightly. "I thought I would wear some simpler clothes to the marketplace today."

"Who is he?" A guard asked, nodding at Haruka.

Souichi placed a protective arm around Haruka's shoulders. "He is with me."

The guards nodded and stepped back, letting the two into the palace.

Haruka breathed a sigh of relief. She was going to be able to find Michiru after all.

* * *

Haruka straightened out the white collared shirt she wore and looked over her outfit. She wore a sandy colored vest over a white collared shirt and dark black pants that stretched to her knees. Her shoes were black and she wore long white socks. The outfit was a little too tacky for her tastes but she apparently had no choice. 

They were to serve at the banquet tonight hosted at the palace. The blonde had begged the professor to let her serve at this banquet so she could have the chance of seeing Michiru. Souichi reluctantly agreed on the condition that Haruka would behave. So it was agreed that during the banquet, Haruka would be standing by Souichi and attending to his needs. Grabbing a towel from a rack, Haruka exited the room and headed towards the great hall.

Arriving in the Great Hall, Haruka scanned the room and found Michiru seated in a table near the end of the hall.Michiru had her head turned so Haruka did not have the chance to catch her attention. Haruka fought the urge to run over to the princess and ask her why she did not want to return to Pluto at that instant. Instead, Haruka shook her head and remembered to keep in line.

Haruka walked along the edge of the room and past the many tables that were lined on the side. Various smells floated in the air as dinner was being prepared in the other room. The guests politely chattered to one another as they waited for the feast to begin. Haruka noticed that Souichi was seated next to a man with long gray hair and pale eyes. The man sat at the table with a serious look plastered on his face. His eyes stared off in the distance as if he was deep in thought. No doubt he was of high status since he was sitting with Souichi.

Souichi lifted his goblet of wine and swirled it around, as if thinking about something. "What do you think of our Queen's decision Malachite?"

The man beside Souichi blinked and slowly turned to Souichi. His cold eyes were calculating as he stared at the professor. After a moment of silence, the Malachite spoke in a low voice, "What else could she do? The King has passed away. Michiru needs a suitor."

Suitor? Haruka's eyes widened when she heard the news but she stayed perfectly still behind the two men. Michiru was... Haruka felt her entire body numb. Why didn't Souichi tell her before?

Souichi nodded towards a young man seated on the other side of the hall. "Kou Seiya... He is a fine young man. So she has already chosen him?"

"This is why we are all here in the banquet. The Queen intends to discuss the engagement with them over the week," Malachite said with distaste.

Haruka felt herself shaking. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Michiru was getting engaged to this Seiya person? Haruka glanced over at the raven haired man. Michiru couldn't like him. The blonde glared at Seiya, picking out the undesirable traits of the young man. Michiru couldn't like him Haruka decided, she couldn't let Michiru marry him. It would be a big mistake.

Dropping her towel, Haruka made her way towards the end of the hall where the royal family was seated. For the moment, Haruka had forgotten all common sense. All she cared about was stopping Michiru from getting engaged to Seiya. The blonde was jerked back as she felt someone grip her wrist.

"Let go of me!" Haruka yelled, causing half the guests in the hall to stare at her direction.

Souichi leaned towards Haruka and whispered quietly, "You will be killed without thought by the bodyguards before you reach the princess. It would be too late when they discover that you are Princess Uranus --not that the Queen would feel any regret for you. Is it worth it?"

Haruka was about to argue that it was, but stopped herself. She wouldn't achieve anything if she was killed. Breathing in deeply, Haruka tore her wrist away from Souichi's grasp and nodded.

* * *

"Let go of me!" 

Neptina's eyes snapped in the direction of the shout. The voice... It was very familiar. It had been a long time since she had heard that voice but it stirred something in her memory. The Queen frowned as she searched for a buried memory. When nobody came to mind, Neptina turned to examine the young man. He was one of the people serving in the banquet. There seemed to be nothing special about him. Neptina closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. Using her powers, the Queen reached forward with her mind towards the young man. Upon touching him, Neptina gasped in shock and nearly dropped her goblet. The aura... His aura felt like Urana's. Yet how could that be? Her eyes narrowing, Neptina decided to keep an eye on the young man.


	16. Giving In

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Notes: Just a quick note, I realized that I messed up on the last chapter when I said that Michiru gave Haruka both her earrings. I went back and changed it, so that now Michiru only left one of her earrings behind and not both. Oh, and I know that Kou is Seiya's first name but in this story, I'm just calling him Seiya.

* * *

Letting Go

* * *

Michiru gently opened her bedroom window, letting the cool night air wash over her. The light breeze played with her aqua locks and flowed through the light fabric of her dress. The princess sighed softly as she stared out the window and at the stars that shone above in the moon less sky. Her eyes scanned the sky and found the small star that was Pluto. Michiru couldn't help but wonder how Haruka was doing on Pluto. Had she gotten taller? Perhaps Haruka had finally mastered the technique with her sword. 

A bird chirped outside and Michiru broke away from her thoughts on Haruka. She couldn't be thinking about Haruka. She had a duty as the princess of Neptune. She was going to be engaged to Seiya. Haruka already loved Yaten. Endless thoughts swirled around in Michiru's mind.

"Why?" Michiru asked softly pressing her forehead against her palm. Her eyes blurred as the deep blue orbs filled with tears. "Why can't I stop thinking about her?"

Michiru raised her head as she heard a knock on her door. She specifically had told her maid not to let anyone disturb her tonight. Massaging her temples, Michiru called out that she did not want any visitors. Regardless, the door creaked opened and Michiru spun around about to tell the person off for coming in to her room with out her consent. The words died in her mouth as Michiru realized that it was her mother.

Mother almost never visited her unless the situation was important. The Queen swept into the room, still in the outfit she had worn in the banquet. The sleeveless gown hugged the Queen's elegant body, showing that the Queen was still as youthful as she was fifty years ago. The long silk dress decorated with small black jewels glittered as Neptina moved. It didn't seem to show at all that the Queen had been through a difficult evening making arrangements and talking with all her guests. Even her hair that was held up in a tight bun, had all the strands still tucked neatly in place. Michiru looked up at her mother, confusion showing in her eyes.

"You have let yourself relax too much on Pluto," Neptina said as she approached Michiru. "Your performance tonight was lacking."

Michiru bowed down her head. There had been many things on her mind at the banquet causing Michiru to be uncoordinated and clumsy earlier today. She knew that she had embarrassed her mother when she had accidentally spilled juice on Seiya and Michiru had truly felt sorry for it. However, she simply could not keep her mind off a certain blonde. "I'm sorry mother, I'll work on improving my performance."

Sighing softly, Neptina shook her head and sat down on Michiru's bed. Motioning her daughter to sit down beside her, the Queen stared out the open window and into the moon less night. "What do you think of Seiya?"

Michiru smiled grimly. Seiya was the son of a powerful lord in the southern hemisphere of Neptune. His family owned large amounts of land and had hundreds of men at their call. Though the royal family was powerful, it was left weakened after the Battle of Keto. Everyone thought that after the invaders were defeated on Pluto that the battle was finished, however the outer planets were attacked again. With Pluto in its weak state, planet Neptune had mustered all its forces to defend the solar system. To expand Neptune's power, Michiru needed to marry Seiya.

"It doesn't matter what I think," Michiru replied, hiding behind a mask of indifference, "as long as it brings good to the kingdom."

The Queen nodded stiffly, but couldn't help but feel upset with her daughter's response. It was what she had done when she was Michiru's age. It was the ideal decision for any ruler to make. However, now that she looked back, Neptina was unsure. She had enjoyed her time with Asuran and she had learned to love him. However, Neptina often wondered what could have been if she had followed her heart. Her decisions had led to a prosperous kingdom, but would that have been possible as well if she had taken another path?

"Are you sure that is your decision?" Neptina asked in a voice that betrayed none of her emotions.

Michiru stared out at the endless sky. _You are the only person that is able to choose the path you want to take. Some may end up with happiness and joy and some paths may end up with regret and pain._

Haruka didn't love her anyway. If she was going to lead an unhappy life no matter what, she should at least lead an unhappy life knowing that she had made the decision to help her kingdom and fulfill her role. "Yes, I'm sure."

"All right," Neptina replied evenly as she rose from Michiru's bed. "If that is the case, I'll finalize everything with the Kou family tomorrow."

Michiru nodded, staring down at her hands. As she heard the door close, the princess slowly walked over to her desk and reached for a small box. Flipping the lid open, Michiru drew out a small aquamarine earring that was shaped like a dolphin.

_I believe that everyone is able to choose_... The words echoed in Michiru's head with no meaning at all as she closed the lid of the box and stepped away from her desk. _I want you to follow your heart. There is a sea of possibilities out there and if you follow your heart, it will never lead you astray._

Michiru slowly walked towards the window with the earring clenched tightly in her hand. She did not have a choice to make. This was the only path left for her to choose. Haruka would never love her. Haruka would never know her feelings towards the other woman. Michiru would marry Seiya and live the rest of her life being content, knowing that her marrying Seiya will lead to the well being of thousands of people on her home planet. She would forget about Haruka.

_These are to remind you that you will always be free like the dolphins. _

Michiru had left one of her earrings for Haruka to show that a part of her will always be with her. She hoped that Haruka would be able to carry out her dream of being free. Michiru smiled. The princess knew Haruka would be able to carry it out. As for her, she was not as strong willed as Haruka. She could never break free from her chains.

Stopping in front of the window, Michiru opened her palm with the earring in it. The aquamarine glittered softly, reflecting the candle light emitting from Michiru's room. Tilting her hand sideways, Michiru watched as the earring slid off her palm and plummeted into the darkness below.

_Some may end up with happiness and joy and some paths may end up with regret and pain_.

* * *

As soon as she was dismissed, Haruka had stormed out of the kitchen to look for Michiru. She knew Souichi would be angry later on, but Haruka couldn't let Michiru marry Seiya. Forget about asking Michiru why she wasn't going to return to Pluto, the blonde was going to find Michiru, set her straight and bring her back to Pluto with her so that they could continue their training. Growling, Haruka stormed up the staircase, with no idea where she was going. After passing a familiar looking door several times, Haruka realized that she was going around in circles. 

Cursing, Haruka made a mental note to find the people who designed this castle and have a talk with them. Pausing for a moment, Haruka spotted a young maid who was carrying a pile of books in her arms.

"Excuse me, miss," Haruka called out, however the girl simply walked past her.

"Can't you see I'm busy!" The young woman yelled, as she struggled to hold on to the toppling pile of books. She was already having enough trouble seeing where she was going over the pile of books and now there was this boy standing firmly in front of her blocking her way. Anna stopped and tried her best to glare at the person.

"Perhaps I could help you with these books," the young man said, "if you could do me a favor afterwards."

Anna felt her load lighten considerably as the blonde took a few books from her pile.

"Thanks," the girl mumbled, turning to look at blond. Anna's mouth dropped open as she finally got the chance to take a good look at the young man. His sandy blond hair was messy and windswept, giving the young man a carefree appearance. Standing beside him, Anna felt as if a cool breeze was winding around her. She found herself staring deeply into his beautiful gray green eyes that sparkled with independence and determination. The young woman instantly changed her attitude.

"I don't know what I would have done without you," Anna said, batting her eyelashes. She flung her golden hair back and smiled sweetly at the young man. "Sure, I'll help you afterwards. I'm Anna. What is your name?"

"Haruka," Haruka mentally kicked herself for her slip. She was suspicious enough. She didn't need people comparing her to the Princess of Uranus. It wouldn't take long for a person with brains to figure out who she was.

"Haruka?" Anna mused as shifted the weight of the books and led Haruka to her destination. "That's a nice name."

Haruka laughed, slightly relieved that Anna made no connection with her name to Princess Uranus'. "You think so?"

Anna nodded vigorously as she half stared at Haruka and half kept her eyes on the direction she was going. It would be very embarrassing if she accidentally walked into a wall while leading this cute young man. Surprisingly, Anna was able to lead Haruka to their destination without any accidents which was very impressive due to the fact that she had nearly kept her eyes glued to Haruka the entire time.

Pausing outside a polished oak door, Anna shifted the books onto one arm and knocked on the door. The empty hallway echoed with the hollow sound. Haruka eyed her the hallway wearily, not liking her surroundings. The candles in the hallway flickered dimly, casting long shadows in its surroundings. Beside the door was a painting of a falling city. The fire in the painting seemed to come alive as it was shown devouring the buildings in its way.

"Come in," a cool voice floated through the door.

Anna shifted the books in her arms once again and turned the handle of the door. Haruka silently followed the young woman, scanning the room as she walked in. Books written in unrecognizable languages lined the rows of shelves that covered the walls. The sound of a quill scratching on paper was the only sound in the room as the two neared the desk with a man seated behind it.

"Here are your books, Master Malachite."

Haruka recognized the man as the person that sat beside Souichi during dinner. His dark gray hair glimmered in the candlelight that filled the corner of the room and his pale eyes were focused on the piece of paper lying in front of him. Without looking at the two, Malachite pointed his quill at a spot near the corner of the room. "You could put them there."

For the first time, Haruka glanced down at the books. It was written in an old language during a time of witches and wizards. Haruka recognized the language because her mother had wanted her to learn it however she had never been very interested. After all, no one currently living in the solar system was able to do any of the spells. If Haruka remembered correctly, those who learned the magic had been devoured by the dark side of the magic and used the spells for evil. They were eventually forced to leave the solar system by the rulers of the planets. The books were confiscated and were kept in the palaces and was only accessible to those with the permission of the royal family. Haruka remembered that there were a few of these books too locked away in the library back home.

Placing the books down, Haruka took one last look at Malachite before exiting the room with Michiru.

"Now that that is done, what did you want?" Anna asked, smiling at Haruka. She led the young man out of the hallway and to a nearby balcony that over looked the palace gardens. The scent of flowers and the sound of water splashing filled the warm night air. Stars glittered brightly in the moonless sky. Even though Haruka was not the romantic type of person, she could clearly tell that Anna was after her.

Anna leaned back on the railing and let the wind lift her shoulder length hair.

Clearing her throat, Haruka said, "I need you to take me to Princess Neptune."

Anna blinked and leaned forward, looking curiously at Haruka. "Why? Are you one of her Highness' admirers?"

Haruka blushed. "No! I'm just a friend."

"Humph... You look like one of her admirers."

"Will you help me then?" Haruka questioned, looking directly at Anna. For the first time, Anna felt the effect of Haruka's eyes. During the conversation with Haruka in the hallway, he had never looked directly at her. The girl blushed but shook her head. Haruka tried her best from appearing annoyed. "What do you want?"

"Well," Anna mused, walking towards Haruka. Her face was tomato red but she worked up her courage. "How about you be my boyfriend?"

Haruka thought for a moment letting the idea roll in her mind. She had no intention of being Anna's 'boyfriend' however this seemed like an interesting concept and could work to her favor. Then again, she didn't want to break the poor girl's heart. "Well..."

Haruka tilted her head to one side and examined Anna, trying to figure how much power she had over her. "How about you give me sometime to decide."

Anna blushed and brushed Haruka's hand with her own. Haruka didn't respond and Anna was worried for a second that she had upset the blonde. Anna bit her lip, however she realized she thought wrong when Haruka smiled kindly at Anna, causing her insides to melt.

"First, could you show me where to find Princess Neptune?" Haruka asked. Though Neptune was nice and beautiful, she wanted more than anything to return to Pluto with Michiru by her side.

Anna blushed and nodded, leading Haruka out of the balcony. "See, I actually have a friend who looks after her Highness. If you need anymore, I could contact her for you."

The two chatted for a while not paying too much attention to their surroundings. There were so many fascinating things about Neptune that Haruka never knew about. Haruka listened, nodding once in a while as Anna rambled on about food, buildings and people. The blonde pretended to listen attentively to all the things Anna had to say, but what she was really interested in the things Anna knew about Michiru.

"I remember when her Highness was young, she had no friends. All day, she would study in her room so that she could become a successful ruler in the future. The Queen wanted to make sure her daughter learned everything."

Haruka ran her fingers through her tangled hair. Was that how Michiru spent her childhood. While she was able to be run wild outside the palace, Michiru had spent her days locked up in her room studying. Haruka realized that there was so many things she didn't know about Michiru and that there were so many things that she had never bothered to ask her friend before. However, on Pluto, Michiru was free to do whatever she wanted. Haruka was sure Michiru could be a great Queen even with out studying her entire life. Now that Haruka thought of it, she remembered that Michiru once told her that she felt free and less burdened on Pluto and felt truly happy to be with Haruka. Was Michiru going to give up her happiness just because

It was only until Anna bumped into someone that Haruka had realized how careless they had been. Instantly two men appeared before them, with their arms crossed and a stern look plastered onto their face. Looking past the two bodyguards, Anna squealed as she realized who she had run into and quickly curtseyed.

"Her Majesty, I'm t-terribly sorry, I should h-have been paying m-more attention," Anna sputtered, her head bent down.

Neptina merely frowned as she listened to Anna sputter her apology. She thought that the people serving at the palace had been trained better. Neptina made a mental not to talk to the supervisors when she had the chance. However, first, she needed to arrange the engagement with the Kou family.

Neptina's eyes fell over the young man bowing beside the sputtering girl. It was uncanny how similar he was to Urana. Could he be related to her in someway? Neptina's eyes narrowed at the thought. Was this young man a spy?

Haruka glanced up to find Queen Neptune's eyes staring directly at her. The blonde told herself to stay calm even though hundreds of horrible thoughts raced through her mind. What if the Queen recognized her similarity to her mother? What if she arrested her for trespassing? Haruka knew that relations between the two planets were not good, and she didn't want to drag her mother into this.

"What is your name?"

Haruka swallowed, her mind racing to find a suitable name. "Bob-Joe."

Haruka mentally kicked herself once again for coming up with such a name. Holding back a sigh, Haruka decided that it was better than saying that her name was Haruka and at least the name was manly. _Very manly_. Out of the corner of her eye, Haruka saw Anna give her a questioning look, but Haruka shook her head slightly, telling her not to say anything. The young woman merely nodded, showing that she understood.

"All right then... Bob-Joe," Neptina said with slight distaste, not quite believing that anyone could have such an odd name. "Let's have a chat. Follow me."

Haruka found that she had no choice, as one of Neptina's bodyguards grabbed her arm and dragged her after the Queen. Sighing, Haruka followed without much protest.

* * *

"So... Bob-Joe," Neptina said slowly as she sat behind her desk. Haruka shifted uncomfortably at her position standing in the middle of the floor. Seeing that Haruka was nervous, Neptina nodded to the chair in front of her desk. "Please take a seat Bob-Joe." 

Haruka mentally winced as she said the name but nevertheless seated down in front of the Queen. Once again, Haruka felt her eyes burning into her.

"Are you new here?"

Haruka decided that it was best to stick as close to the truth as possible. Nodding, Haruka replied clearly, "Yes, I just arrived here yesterday."

"Where did you live before?"

Thinking carefully yet quickly so she wouldn't appear suspicious, Haruka answered, "I lived on Pluto before, your majesty."

"How do you like it here on Neptune?" Neptina asked gesturing with her hand out the window.

"It's very beautiful," Haruka replied, and started naming the things that she liked about the planet. However, as Haruka continued to name things, the princess kept her guard up and an eye out for what the Queen wanted from her. "I have never seen such beautiful fountains anywhere else in the solar system."

Neptina nodded, her icy eyes never leaving Haruka's face. "They don't spend as much money on these things on Uranus do they?"

Haruka shook her head. Her mother was not really into aesthetics and beauty. She knew that Queen Neptune was a very practical person but she appreciated art and beauty. Haruka's heart jolted as she suddenly realized her mistake. Thinking quickly, Haruka said, "I don't know because I have never been to Uranus."

Neptina raised an eyebrow. She had thought that she had caught him. Even so, she was sure Urana only had one daughter andthat Urana wasa single child. There was a very small chance that this young man was related to her, yet they appeared to be so similar. If Bob-Joe was a girl, then she definitely would have locked her up in the dungeons right away for questioning.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Without taking her eyes off Bob-Joe, Neptina indicated to her bodyguards to open the door.

"Mother, Lord Kou wanted..."

Haruka spun around in her chair at the familiar voice. Michiru's eyes widened as she met Haruka's gray green eyes. Even though Haruka was dressed as a boy, Michiru instantly recognized her friend.

"Do you know Bob-Joe?" Neptina questioned.

Michiru appeared confused for a moment before realizing that her mother was talking about Haruka. Seeing her face, Haruka put on a lopsided grin as if telling Michiru that she had gotten that name by accident.

"Um, she --hehelped me find an earring I lost earlier today," Michiru lied with difficulty. She had never before lied to her mother but she knew that the Queen would take drastic actions if she found out that this young man was actually the Princess of Uranus. Collecting her thoughts, Michiru pulled away from Haruka's gaze and turned to her mother. "Lord Kou wanted me to tell you that he wished to change the date of the meeting. He said that there were some important things that he needed to attend to."

Neptina nodded. Sighing softly, she said, "All right, both of you can leave now."

Haruka quickly got out of her seat and followed Michiru out the door.

As soon as the door shut, Haruka grabbed Michiru's arms and shoved her into the nearest room, which happened to be a broom closet. After lighting a candle and placing it onto a nearby shelf, Haruka grabbed Michiru by the shoulders. "Michiru! Thank goodness I've found you. You don't know how much trouble I went through to contact you."

"Haruka-"

"You have to come home with me," Haruka said, fumbling with a pouch in her pocket. She drew out the dolphin earring that Michiru had left behind and took Michiru's hand firmly in her own. "You left this behind when you left. Here, take it back."

Michiru pulled her hand away and looked Haruka squarely in the eye. "L-Listen Haruka, I'm not going back with you. I can't go b-back with you. I have a duty here on Neptune."

Haruka looked at her friend in confusion. "But Michiru..."

The aqua haired woman looked at Haruka and trying to hold back her tears. "Haruka, I would love to go back with you, but I..."

"Is it because of Seiya? If it is, I could go kill him for you."

Michiru shook her head, and wrapped her arms around Haruka, tears falling down her cheeks. She clung desperately onto the other woman as if it would be the last time they would ever see each other. Her voice shaking, Michiru whispered softly, "No, it's my decision."

Wiping her tears, Michiru stepped back from a bewildered Haruka and opened the closet door. "Go back to Pluto Haruka."

With that said, Michiru left.

* * *

Author's Note: No offense is meant for anyone who is named Bob-Joe. 


	17. Getting Together

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update. Busy week.

* * *

Getting Together

Haruka leaned against the wall and sank to the floor while staring at the dolphin earring in her hand. Michiru didn't leave the earring behind by accident. She had left it as a goodbye present. Michiru never intended to come back to Pluto.

The candlelight flickered gently, as Haruka sat on the cold floor staring at the earring in her hand. Michiru didn't want to come home to her. The princess said that she had a duty to her planet. Haruka frowned softly as she thought about what Anna said about Michiru.

"_I remember when her Highness was young, she had no friends. All day, she would study in her room so that she could become a successful ruler in the future. The Queen wanted to make sure her daughter learned everything."_

Fingering the earring, Haruka remembered something Michiru had told her not long ago.

"_Before I met you, that was how I lived. If I was able to live without needing any support from anyone previous to meeting you, I could do it now."_

The blonde buried her head in her hands. What could she do? She did not understand why Michiru would rather stay on Neptune than go home with her. Duty? Becoming a senshi and training to defend the solar system was duty as well. Was what Michiru said an excuse? It was like trying to walk in the dark. Haruka did not know where to go or what she was after. Haruka blinked as her own voice echoed in her mind.

_"I don't know who your so called "friends" are but I know that true friends would never abandon each other. Your friends weren't good enough for you. They failed you as a friend and I promise you that I would never leave you."_

Haruka closed her hand around the earring. She knew what to do now. Once the princess of Uranus makes a promise, she will keep it to the very end. She was going to return the earring to Michiru and bring her back to Pluto. She knew that Michiru didn't enjoy facing the duties she had on Neptune. Perhaps in the future, after her training on Pluto, it would be Michiru's time to take on those responsibilities but it should not be today or tomorrow.

The blonde pushed herself off the floor in the cramped closet and grinned happily. Besides, she couldn't return to Pluto as a failure. What would Setsuna think of her? Uranians were anything but failures.

Pinching out the burning candle, Haruka put her hand on the doorknob but paused when she heard two voices growing louder in the hallway.

"Seiya, your father is already very impatient."

"Taiki, I don't care. I've told him a thousand times that I do not like Princess Neptune," Seiya shouted. "She is a great person. Talented, beautiful, artistic… but I do not love her."

"Seiya, very few people of your status marry for love," The person called Taiki argued. Though he was impatient, his voice carried a sense of reason. "Listen, you can't delay the engagement for long. So you managed to postpone your parents from coming to the palace for a month by setting termites in one of their factories and stopped the meeting tomorrow by putting itching powder in your father's shampoo but you can't continue like this forever."

"Taiki," Seiya cried exasperatedly, slamming a fist against the closet door. Haruka grumbled quietly as pieces of wood rained down from the ceiling but did not reveal herself to the two people outside the broom closet. "Get this through your head! I do not want to marry Princess Neptune!"

"Get this through your head Seiya, your father will make you marry Princess Neptune whether you like it or not and no matter how hard you try to prevent it. Please stop doing all these things to stop it. You will only get us into more trouble."

Seiya sighed sorrowfully. "Do you want me to live miserably for the rest of my life."

"No, but I do not believe that it would be a good idea for you to run away," Taiki replied.

"Okay, so you won't let me run away."

"Your father will have my head. I'm supposed to look after you."

"Okay, let's say I marry her and then ditch her."

Taiki was about to open his mouth to voice his disapproval however someone beat him to it. The closet door that Seiya was leaning against suddenly burst open, sending Seiya flying to the floor. In a blink of an eye, Seiya was pinned to the ground by a cross blond.

"I suggest you think of a different plan," Haruka growled, her face merely a few inches away from Seiya's. Her gray-green eyes pierced into Seiya's dark blue orbs as the two engaged into a heated staring contest. "If you hurt Michiru in anyway, I will personally make sure you die a painful death."

Taiki blinked in surprise but quickly regained his senses. Running over to Seiya, Taiki grabbed the blond from behind in an attempt to pull the young man off Seiya. Everything was a blur as Taiki felt the blond twist around in his grasp. Taiki's eyes widened as he saw a fist soaring in his direction and leapt back.

Seiya scrambled onto his feet and sent a fist flying over into his attackers direction. His fist barely flew past the blonde's face and Seiya gasped as the blond grabbed her arm and pulled, causing him to fall forwards.

Seiya reached forward with his other arm and grabbed onto his attacker, causing them both to topple over. Seiya and Haruka both landed with a muffled thump on to the red-carpeted floor. The dark haired adolescent landed on top of the blond, his hands still clenched onto the attacker's shirt. Both appeared to be dazed.

Seiya moaned and lifted his head from the blonde's chest. The young man blinked. This didn't seem right. Seiya appeared confused for a moment as she stared at the blonde's chest. Then, gasping in surprise, Seiya immediately took his hand off the blonde's shirt and jumped off the young "man" who had attacked her. "You're a girl!"

"I'll break your head off, you pervert!" Haruka yelled, as she got up from the floor. The blonde bristled in anger and was about to give Seiya a miserable death however Taiki stepped in between the two.

"Let's talk this over. Fighting is not the only solution."

Haruka didn't seem to hear because she was too busy thinking of ways to kill Seiya. Seiya was too busy staring at his hand to actually hear Taiki, which only infuriated Haruka even more. "I believe you said that you didn't want Seiya hurting the princess. We both do not want this engagement to happen, correct?"

Haruka blinked and lowered her fist, still breathing heavily. She shot a poisonous glare at Seiya before turning back to Taiki. "Yes, I do not want _him_ to marry her."

"Then why don't we work together to formulate a plan." Taiki looked at the two staring angrily at one another. Haruka looked like she wanted to murder Seiya right there on the spot while Seiya glared arrogantly at Haruka. Both clearly disliked the other. "I want you two to shake on it."

Haruka took in a deep breath in attempt to restrain herself from punching Seiya in the face as he hesitantly extended his hand. "Fine."

Haruka reached forward with her hand and formed a fist, which she aimed in Seiya's direction. In a flash, Seiya caught the fist in his hand and grinned triumphantly. Growling, Haruka drew back her fist.

Taiki just sighed and rubbed his temples. He will just pretend that he never saw that and that the two shook hands just like normal people.

* * *

Smoothing the snow-white tablecloth in front of her, Michiru stared at her plate dully as she sat alone in the dining hall eating lunch. The huge room felt oddly empty today but there was no difference in how Michiru ate any other day. Looking around the room, Michiru noticed the usual maids that served her standing by, the large painting of the ocean hanging on the wall in the far end of the room, and the sunlight filtering in through the soft indigo curtains that hung behind her. The warm feeling Michiru usually felt when she was in the room seemed to have evaporated into thin air.

Returning her gaze to the table, Michiru lifted a glass of water to her lips. Was she to live the rest of her life like this? Was she to live the rest of her life cold and alone? Her fingers tightened around the cool glass. Perhaps she had made the wrong choice when she told Haruka to leave her. Michiru pressed her lips together. Yet it was for the good of everyone. Haruka loved Yaten and brining Michiru back would only cause difficulties for all three of them, besides, she was far more useful here on Neptune. Gently placing her glass of water down, Michiru looked down at her plate.

_Mushrooms_, Michiru thought monotonously as she prodded the object with her fork, _are still stupid._ Sighing softly, Michiru stuck her fork into the mushroom and brought it to her mouth.

"Why is a pretty princess like you are you eating alone?"

Michiru turned to see Seiya pull out a chair and take a seat beside her. A few maids came over to the table to ask Seiya if he needed anything but the young lord just waved them away. The young man wore a burgundy vest over a white shirt and dark black pants. His raven-colored hair was neatly tied up and cascaded elegantly down his back.

Seiya leaned back in his chair and smiled at the princess. "Why are you staring at me? I know I'm good looking but you really are starting to freak me out."

Michiru returned his smile and shook her head. "Everyone else is busy. What brings you here, Lord Kou?"

"Call me Seiya. You don't mind if I stay here do you?"

"Not at all."

Seiya turned to the palace maids and motioned for them to leave the room. When they hesitated, Seiya grinned and said, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to your princess. Besides, we're almost engaged."

Michiru frowned as the last maid exited the room and the door snapped shut. It was a custom that a man and a woman can't be in the same room alone. A person of Seiya's status should know that and respect that. "You know that this isn't allowed. There will be terrible rumors about us around the castle for weeks."

Seiya grinned and nodded, "Exactly."

When Michiru opened her mouth to protest, Seiya placed a finger on her cherry blossom lips.

"I really don't care about rumors anyway," he said nonchalantly.

Michiru pushed her chair back and stood up quickly. Her light blue dress ruffled slightly as Michiru moved back with a worried expression on her face. "Lord Kou, please don't do this."

Seiya blinked. "Do what? And please call me Seiya."

"I believe that you are a respectable man. Please don't ruin that impression," Michiru said coolly, keeping a wary eye on the man.

Seiya stared at Michiru in confusion. "Princess Neptune, I have no idea… Oh, I see."

Seiya laughed and got up from his chair, still clutching his stomach. "You don't think I'm _that _type of person do you?"

Michiru made no reply, obviously thinking he was the type of person that took advantage over girls when no one was watching. Seeing the doubt on Michiru's face, Seiya laughed even harder, and fell onto the floor.

"I really don't see what's so funny," Michiru huffed but comforted to find that Seiya was a decent person.

Seiya shook his head, still laughing loudly. "I'm sorry, but I actually came here to try to talk about the exact opposite."

"Pardon?" Michiru walked towards Seiya, her high heels clicking against the wooden floor. She stopped in front of the young man and offered a hand.

Seiya grasped onto Michiru's hand and pulled himself off the floor. Leading them back to the table, Seiya pulled back a chair for Michiru and flopped down on another chair. Seiya sighed softly, and tilted his chair back, lifting his face up to stare at the elaborately decorated ceiling. He blew at his bangs causing locks of hair to lift up.

"See, the thing is Princess Neptune—"

"Michiru."

Seiya tilted his head to look at Michiru and nodded, "See, Michiru, I do not want to be engaged to you."

Michiru grimaced. She could understand how he felt. So it seems that they were both chained to duty because of their status. She didn't wish to be engaged with Seiya either but she had no choice and told him so.

"You do have a choice though," Seiya said, leaning forward and placing all four chair legs back onto the ground. Seiya's midnight blue eyes gazed deeply into Michiru's eyes as he spoke. "I am making a choice to stop the engagement."

"But you don't have the power to do that." Michiru protested. "Besides, this is for the good of the planet."

Seiya waved that aside. "You could marry another person and do better for the planet. To be honest with you, I will make a horrible king. I'm irresponsible, arrogant, impatient… I could go on and on and you could fill a hundred encyclopedias on how bad of a king I would make."

"But—"

"You don't want to marry me either do you?" Seiya questioned.

The princess shook her head, her motion causing her short aqua tresses to swirl around her. "You're nice, but I want to marry someone I love."

Seiya smiled. "So anyway, Taiki, Haruka and I—"

"Haruka?" Michiru cried in surprise. "She is still here?"

"Of course," Seiya replied, making a face. "She said that she wouldn't leave with out you."

"But—"

Seiya shook his head, telling Michiru to listen. "We decided that me running away wouldn't be the best plan in the world and spent the entire night going over possible ideas. So we finally came up with the plan where we indirectly convince our parents that we would be a horrible match. We could stage arguments around the castle and in front of our parents and show that we are bad influences on one another. I'm sure they'll call off the engagement within a week."

Michiru frowned. She couldn't do this to her mother could she? After the King died, there was great worry over the Queen's health and it was made a priority that Michiru find a husband to rule over Neptune in case anything happened to the Queen. However, Haruka couldn't stay on Neptune forever and Seiya admitted himself that marrying him will be a grave mistake. Michiru chewed on her lip as she thought over her options. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed that the best choice would be to work with Seiya's plan. There were many other men in the world that could be competent kings. Plus, her mother appeared to be in fine health.

"All right Seiya, I'll do it."

"Great," Seiya exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. "We'll start planning right away."

Michiru hesitated for a moment before asking, "How is Haruka?"

"Well," Seiya said, scratching his head, "she wanted to come along to tell you the plan but Master Souichi needed her for something."

"Why is she helping Souichi do things?"

"I'm not too sure myself. I think Haruka is working for Souichi right now. She was mumbling about as she left… um, I think she mentioned that it was how she got into the castle. Michiru, who is Haruka really? Whenever I am around her, I could sense a strong aura surrounding her. She is not a ordinary castle maid."

Michiru faltered as she thought of how to answer Seiya's question. She knew that she could trust him; after all, they were in the same boat. Now that she knew how Haruka had gotten into the castle, Michiru was slightly more relieved that she hadn't snuck in on her own. Perhaps if Seiya knew, he could also help her. "Haruka is Princess Uranus but Seiya, promise me you'll help her keep this a secret. See, my mother has issues with Haruka's family."

Seiya's eyes widened and he lifted his hands, blushing softly. "Guess I was lucky I got away with it."

Michiru looked at him curiously.

"Uh, long story," Seiya said, chuckling nervously. "Anyway, I got to go now."

Seiya pushed himself off the chair and headed towards the exit. As he placed his hands on the elegant doorknobs, he paused and looked back at Michiru. "Michiru, I could tell Haruka cares a lot about you. Just thought that you should know."

Seiya then disappeared behind the door, leaving Michiru to think about what he just said.

* * *

Michiru slowly walked along the winding path that ran through the palace gardens. Stopping by a lake, Michiru looked up and gazed thoughtfully at the stunning sunset. Hundreds of colors seemed to fill the sky as the sun slowly sank beneath the horizon. "If only I had met you before Yaten did. Perhaps it was not meant to be."

"Your highness, we must hurry back or else we will miss dinner."

Michiru turned to look at the maid who had accompanied her during her walk. The girl appeared nervous but Michiru gave her a reassuring smile. "I want to stay out here a little longer. You should return to the castle and find a dress for me to wear for the meal, I'll return also after a minute.

Biting her lip, the girl bowed her head but made no comment as she walked away.

* * *

Haruka sighed as she wiggled the lock with her pick. She had learned a few tricks from Yaten, however, she was no where as good as the silver-haired boy. "Come on."

The blonde grinned triumphantly when she heard a click. She knew that Malachite wouldn't be back in a while because she had put rotten milk in his tea and knew that he would be in the washroom for quite some time. She needed as much time as she could get. From what she could remember the last time she visited the room, there were many books to look through.

The blonde stuck her head in the room and looked around carefully. When there appeared to be no traps, the Uranian stepped into the dark room and closed the door behind her. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as she scanned her surroundings.

Haruka walked up to a book shelf and ran her finger along a spine of a book. This wasn't what she was looking for. The blonde looked around at all the books in the room and reminded herself of why she was doing this.

_"Thanks for bringing these books for me, Haruka."_

_The blonde eased the pile of books on to the table and looked curiously at Souichi. "What are these books for anyway?"_

_Souichi took a book from the pile and flipped through it. "I'm doing some research. See, during the past few years, the weather patterns seemed to have changed on Neptune. Well actually, it isn't only weather patterns but other things as well. Natural disaster have been occurring all over the planet. Disease, famine, tornados… and to make things even worse, King Neptune passed away. And since her Majesty would not accept any help from Queen Uranus, this makes it even more important that Michiru marries someone."_

_"What do you think the causes are?" Haruka asked, leaning forward. The Uranian Princess frowned softly as she looked over the data with Souichi._

_"I'm not sure but this couldn't just be bad luck. I believe that there is a force behind it."_

_"But how?" Haruka asked, turning to face the silver haired man. The blonde's eyes widened as a thought struck her. "Dark magic?"_

_Souichi smiled. "Impressive. I was thinking along the same lines as well. Suppose one of the sorcerers or sorceresses we banned from our solar system were to come back, they would want revenge on those who forced them out."_

_Haruka furrowed her brow and said slowly, "Malachite has some of the ancient spell books."_

_Souichi looked up from his research. "How do you know?"_

_"One of the castle maids and I helped deliver them to his office. "_

_Souichi closed his book shut with a snap, and started pacing the room. A few times he glanced at Haruka but continued pacing. "Malachite? Perhaps the Queen had granted him permission to go over the books. Many of us are doing research on the issue. Yet…"_

_Souichi stopped pacing and walked over to Haruka. "Do you think you could do me a favor?"_

_Haruka nodded grimly. If it would help planet Neptune and Michiru, then Haruka was willing to offer whatever she could. "What do you want me to do?"_

Haruka walked past the bookshelf and headed towards Malachite's desk. The blonde slid behind the desk and was surprised to find that none of Malachite's drawers were locked. Frowning, Haruka examined a drawer. It appeared to be an ordinary drawer. Placing her hand on the handle, Haruka pulled it open and was surprised to find that it was empty.

The blonde closed the drawer and straightened up. Haruka froze as she suddenly noticed silver thread that surrounding the desk. How did she not feel it as she walked past? The blonde walked up to the thread and examined it. One line ran from the wall behind the desk to a book case in front while another that was attached to walls on opposite sides of the room ran across the front.

Reaching forward, Haruka touched the thread. Eyes widening as her hands past through the thread, Haruka realized that she had activated some sort of signal to alert Malachite of her presence.

"Shit."

Spinning around, Haruka started to sprint out of the room. However the now solid thread seemed to come to life and wrapped instantly wrapped itself around Haruka's wrist. Haruka pulled against the thread but found that it was no use. The other lines of thread shot towards the girl and grabbed onto both of Haruka's legs.

Gasping, Haruka reached into her pocket for her transformation pen. "Uranus planet power, make up!"

The threads instantly dissolved as Haruka transformed into Uranus. Breaking into a run, Uranus charged towards the door. Flinging it open, Uranus rushed out the door with out bothering to close it and sprinted down the hall. Behind her, Uranus could hear hurried footsteps echoing down the hallway.

The blonde skidded around a corner and ended up in the balcony Anna had taken her to the day before. Uranus flew over the railing and landed lightly onto the grassy ground below. Un-transforming as she ran because it wouldn't be too good if someone saw Sailor Uranus in Triton Castle, Haruka headed towards Souichi's office as fast as she could.

* * *

Seiya kicked a pebble as he strode through the garden alone. The young lord looked around at the large lakes in the garden. Michiru had not shown up at all during dinner. They needed to begin their plan before their parents agreed on the engagement. There was not much time left. He was not going to be able to hold back his parents forever.

* * *

Michiru dusted her dress and stood up from the grassy ground. Looking at the grass stains on her dress, Michiru frowned unhappily. If her mother saw this, she would be lectured for hours. Speaking of her mother… Michiru's head shot up and the princess looked around wildly. The sky was already dark. She was sure that she had missed dinner. Her mother would be very displeased.

Michiru started forward however gasped in surprise when someone rammed into her, sending them both flying into the lake behind Michiru. The princess gasped as the water enveloped her entire body in a huge splash. Glancing at her attacker, Michiru froze when she realized that it was Haruka.

"Har—"

"She went this way!" A voice yelled.

Suddenly, the entire lake was surrounded by soldiers led by Malachite. The advisor stopped in front of the lake and stared at the two figures sitting in the water.

"Where is she? Where is that thief? Malachite growled angrily.

Dripping wet, Michiru straightened herself and faced Malachite angrily. "Have you forgotten your position Malachite?"

The man hesitated before bowing his head quickly to Michiru. "I am sorry for my rudeness your highness. However I have discovered that there is a thief in the castle. If you would so kindly tell me which direction she went."

"I did not see anyone pass by." Michiru replied calmly, sweeping back a dripping lock of hair.

Malachite opened his mouth to question Michiru again however he was interrupted by the arrival of the Queen.

Neptina strode coolly towards the huge group of people with her guards trailing after her. Stopping in front of the lake, the Queen turned to Malachite who whispered urgently into her ear. The Queen nodded and turned to look at Michiru.

"Michiru where were you during dinner and more importantly, what in the world are you doing standing in the lake?" Neptina asked, looking extremely displeased.

"See, I… um," Michiru mumbled incoherently as the Queen continued to glower at her. Michiru bit her lip as her mother eyed Haruka. She had clearly heard Malachite whisper the words thief and intruder to her mother. Did she suspect Haruka?

Suddenly Seiya stormed into the scene. He bowed quickly to the Queen before lifting his head and saying, "I'm afraid that it was my fault your majesty. See, I was worried about Michiru because she didn't show up for dinner so I came to the gardens and saw her with this man. I got angry and pushed them both into the lake."

Seiya turned to glared angrily at Michiru. "I can't believe you could do this to me! How could I marry you if you are having this affair with another man!"

"Michiru, is this true?" Neptina asked turning to her daughter.

Michiru glanced uncertainly at Seiya. "Mother, it's just a misunderstanding. See… I er, came out here to get some fresh air and bumped into Har –Bob-Joe. We started a conversation and Seiya suddenly came along and started yelling angrily at us for no reason and then pushed us into the lake."

"You looked like you were doing more than having a nice talk," Seiya shouted at Michiru.

The aqua haired princess glared angrily at Seiya and argued, "You are just an overly jealous person with an ego bigger than your head!"

Seiya opened his mouth to argue back but was interrupted by the Queen. "Enough. You two are going to be engaged. You will have to learn to communicate better. Michiru, you and Bon-Joe were just having a conversation, correct?"

Michiru nodded.

Neptina turned to Seiya and said in a much gentler voice. "It is just all a misunderstanding. Why don't you talk this over with Michiru."

Seiya nodded, still frowning.

"Now, Malachite, what did the intruder look like?" The queen questioned, turning to Malachite.

"She wore a short navy colored skirt and had short sandy hair."

"Well, it probably isn't Bob-Joe," the queen said, examining Haruka carefully. "That is unless he could turn into a girl, change his clothes while running and be at two places at once."

Malachite took one last look at Haruka before agreeing that it wasn't possible but the person did run in this direction and had the same color hair as Bob-Joe.

"All right, it's late," the Queen said, turning back to Michiru. "You better change your clothes Michiru. I'll ask the cooks to cook something for you to eat. Do not miss dinner again, do you understand?"

Michiru nodded and the Queen nodded with satisfaction and left the three young adults. Malachite followed the Queen along with his soldiers.

Sighing with relief, Michiru collapsed onto her knees, causing the water to ripple around her. "That was close."


	18. Carrying On

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: I was just thinking about the title of the story and how it doesn't seem to really connect with the story. Should I change it?

* * *

Carrying On

Michiru peeled the drenched and sticky dress off her skin and tossed it aside on to a nearby chair. Normally, she would have been neater, however she didn't seem to care about anything at the moment. Leaning back against the closet door, Michiru watched dully as the water from the fabric slowly dripped onto the carpeted floor where it was soaked up.

She realized that she had changed so much after she met Haruka. Before she had known her, she knew exactly what she wanted. She was sure of herself and never lost control. All that she wanted to do in life was to become a great queen. Perhaps she had yearned for freedom as well but she knew that she couldn't escape from her destiny. She had followed the path that her mother carved for her. Everything was clear and she knew what she had to do. She studied hard and worked hard to impress everyone. However, after she had met Haruka, it seemed that she wanted other things in life. It was just too bad that she could never obtain what she wanted.

Michiru turned her head slightly and closed her eyes, recalling the events that occurred earlier tonight.

_"Come on!" Seiya cried out at a random tree with a hint of desperation in his voice. "I shoved your daughter in to a lake because I saw her with another person. Doesn't the words "overly jealous" pop out at you? I would not make a good king!"_

_Seiya kicked the tree and flopped down on the ground with a displeased look on his face. This wasn't helping at all. The queen could of at least told him not to do it again, but no, she told Michiru and him to communicate better. Her reaction was completely unexpected and did not suit well with Seiya's plan. He was starting to lose confidence. He had been trying to put off the engagement for over half a year. Perhaps there was no way to stop this after all. _

_Seiya closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. What was happening to him? He was not one to give up so easily. Sighing softly, Seiya stood onto his feet and forced a smile onto his face. "I'll look for you later and we will "communicate", Princess Neptune. Just not in the way your mother intended for us to. Oh, and don't worry Bob-Joe, I won't eat her up." _

_With that said, the young man left, leaving Haruka and Michiru alone in the clearing. Haruka growled in her position sitting in the lake as she watched Seiya leave. As soon as she was done working with him, she was going to give him a good pounding. _

_Turning away from Seiya, Michiru offered a hand to Haruka. The blonde took Michiru's hand and the other girl pulled Haruka onto her feet. They were both dripping wet and cold but didn't move to get out of the lake. _

_"Why didn't you leave?" Michiru asked quietly, staring down at her feet. The water splashed lightly against her leg, making soft swishing sounds while crickets in the background sang._

_"Why would I leave?" Haruka asked with a raised eyebrow. "I set out to bring you back and I intend to succeed."_

_"It's not safe," Michiru said quietly. "Sooner or later, mother will find out. Especially with all the attention you're getting. What were you doing earlier?"_

_"Research," Haruka replied grimly. She didn't want to worry Michiru so Haruka said nothing more. Besides, she didn't have any evidence. Sure, there were evil threads in his office that attacked people but Haruka didn't see them the day before when she visited his office with Anna. It was magic and magic was not something you could easily use as evidence because it has no solid form. _

_"Haruka, don't do it again," Michiru warned, her eyes filled with worry. "Malachite is a powerful man. In more ways than one. He'll make sure he will find out whoever snuck into his office. He has ways with things. Don't get on his bad side, your situation is bad enough already."_

_"I'll be fine," Haruka said. "But Michiru, I want you to reconsider returning to Pluto with me. We'll go through with this plan and have your mother call off the engagement. Then you could return to Pluto with me."_

_Haruka stepped closer to Michiru and placed both his hands on her shoulders. His gray-green eyes looked down at her with such power that it was almost tangible._

_Michiru took a slow breath. She could feel her heart beating faster as Haruka looked down at her with his exquisite eyes. Her heart screamed for her to say yes but her mind reminded her that Haruka already had Yaten and that going back with her would only bring her pain. Michiru brought her head up to look at Haruka and when her eyes locked with Haruka's, it seemed like they were the only two people on the entire planet. Whenever she tried to forget her, all Michiru could think of was Haruka's concerned eyes that looked after her when she was sick or the soft voice Haruka used to talk to her. Closing her eyes, the Neptunian moved forward so that her face was only a few inches away from the blonde's._

_"Haruka…" Michiru whispered, her grip tightening on Haruka's shirt. "I…"_

_The aqua-haired princess felt the last two words lodge themselves in her throat. Michiru felt Haruka exhale softly and the princess quickly regained her senses. Her eyes snapping open, Michiru let go of Haruka's shirt and stepped back. What was she doing? _

_"Michiru…"_

_Michiru turned away from Haruka, not wanting to see Haruka's reaction. Why had she done that? Why had she lost control? Holding back a sob, Michiru said as evenly as she could that she needed to go talk to Seiya. Treading through the water, Michiru made her way to the shore without looking back at Haruka._

A knock on the door interupted Michiru's thoughts. The aqua haired woman opened her closet door to grab a robe and put it around her underwear before going to answer the door. She expected the person to be her mother because no one else had the nerve to come knocking at her door so late at night, so Michiru was fairly surprised when she opened the door and found Seiya standing outside.

"Did you need anything?" Michiru asked.

"Yes, I need to talk," Seiya said, pushing Michiru into the room and closing the door behind them. The young man raised his eyebrow at Michiru's attire but needed to talk about something else so he made no comment. "What do we do?"

"I don't know. Seiya, I feel guilty lying to my mother. Never in my life had I lied so many times to anyone. This marriage couldn't be that bad. Besides our parents are only doing this for us."

"If they were, then they would have asked us if we wanted to get engaged."

"Actually… my mother did ask and I said yes," Michiru said, sighing softly. She looked at Seiya's shocked expression and explained "I thought it was the best choice at that time!"

"And now you don't?" Seiya asked, still finding it hard to believe that Michiru had willingly wanted to marry him.

"I still do think it is the best choice but my heart keeps telling me to do something else," Michiru said softly, as she twisted her finger around a stray thread on her robe. Yet, even if my heart keeps telling me to chase after Haruka, it would never be.

Seiya leaned against the wall casually while looking at Michiru. "Okay, but we still want to—"

The two spun around to face the door as they heard a knock from the other side. Michiru instantly began to panic. No one else other that the Queen would come knocking on her door at this time. "It has to be my mother. I can't let her see you in my room in the middle of the night. What would she think?"

The princess grabbed Seiya by the arm and started shoving him into her closet; however, Seiya grabbed onto the closet door and wouldn't budge.

"What are you doing?" Michiru hissed as Seiya pushed the closet door closed and shook his head.

Seiya's grinned and pressed his mouth to Michiru's. Michiru gasped and let go of Seiya, however the young man held firmly onto Michiru's waist. Michiru moved her lips in protest but it was ignored by Seiya. Pressing himself against Michiru, Seiya forced Michiru's back to the wall and held her in that position for another few seconds. The princess's lungs were screaming for air by the time Seiya let go of her.

"What are you two doing?" Michiru's eyes widened as she realized that Seiya had forgotten to lock the door after he had come in. Which meant…

Michiru quickly shoved Seiya away and to her surprise he stepped back with out a struggle. Seiya grinned and winked at an angry and shocked Michiru. Michiru was absolutely livid. What in the world was he trying to do?

"Mother, it's not what you think," Michiru exclaimed.

Neptina sighed and glanced from Seiya to Michiru. "I was once young too, however, this behavior must be restrained. Seiya, Michiru, both of you should know better."

"Mother, we weren't doing anything," Michiru protested while shooting a angry glare at Seiya.

"Michiru, I saw you two making out," Neptina said.

"Yes, I mean, no! It's a misunderstanding."

Neptina raised an eyebrow and walked over to Michiru's bed, where she sat down. Motioning for the two to come over, Neptina sighed and said, "You two will be married soon, why not wait until then."

"Yes mother," Michiru replied quietly looking straight at her mother. The princess was surprised to discover that her mother appeared unwell. Michiru didn't notice before when they were at the lake because of the darkness, but now in her fully lit room, Michiru noticed that her mother looked pale and had lines underneath her eyes. With all that was happening on Neptune, it was hard for the Queen to take care of everything herself. If only she would accept the help from Queen Uranus. Though Neptina didn't show it, Michiru knew that she was tired and couldn't handle everything herself. The queen had built the image that she could do anything and was unable to crumble but Michiru knew better. "I understand."

Meanwhile, Seiya looked like he wanted to strangle something but he managed to grunt out something that sounded like a yes.

"All right," Neptina said and rose wearily from Michiru's bed. Glancing at the wet dress thrown carelessly onto Michiru's chair, Neptina frowned softly, images of what Seiya and Michiru were doing before she came in drifted into her mind.

Michiru noticed her mother looking at the dress and blushed deeply. "Mother, we didn't—"

"We'll leave it at that Michiru," Neptina breathed. Turning to a guard positioned down the hall, Neptina told him to escort Seiya to his room and disappeared down the hall.

Michiru heaved a sigh and placed her head in her hands. "I know you want to stop this engagement really badly, but could you please refrain from embarrassing me in front of my mother."

"Hey, you're not the only person who had doesn't want to disappoint their parents."

"Well, you obviously don't care as much."

"I do, I care deeply about them and want to make them happy," Seiya admitted. A frown flashed across Seiya's face. He wanted to please his parents but had they considered his feelings. He was trying to make this as easy as possible for them by showing how they would not make a good couple. He could have continued to destroy factories and switching shampoo bottles with balding solutions. Suddenly, he turned to Michiru's bedpost and started slamming his head against the elegantly carved piece of wood and cursing at it in every language he knew. "I was making out with your daughter in her room, during the middle of the night. You're supposed to throw me out of the palace!"

"Mother must want this engagement to work out really badly," Michiru said softly over Seiya's string of curses. "We need this engagement badly. The condition on Neptune is not favorable and mother is not accepting help from Queen Urana. I think if I asked her if I could take back what I said about marrying you, she wouldn't let me."

Pressing his forehead against the bedpost, Seiya sighed and shut his eyes. His cheerful demeanor seemed to trickle away slowly as his plans continued to fail repeatedly. Tilting his head to the side, Seiya turned to see the guard waiting by the door to escort him back to the guest rooms. "I'll see you later Michiru."

Seiya straightened up and strode towards the door. Turning his head back to look at the princess, Seiya grinned cockily, "By the way Michiru, you owe me for that electrifying kiss."

Then Seiya quickly disappeared before Michiru could find an axe and chase after him.

* * *

Haruka gently knocked at Souichi's office door, her heart only half focused on her mission for Souichi. The blonde ran her fingers through her messy hair and paused to recall the event that had taken place at the lake. When Michiru had touched her, Haruka had felt a feeling she had never felt before. Her heart seemed to still and time seemed to freeze. When Michiru had met her eyes, she could feel the electricity between them. The air was thick and Michiru looked like she wanted to tell her something but thought better of it afterwards.

Haruka blinked in surprise when the door in front of her opened.

"Professor Souichi," Haruka greeted as she stepped into the room.

"How are you, Bob-Joe?" Souichi asked heartily.

Haruka looked puzzled but shook her head and said, "You don't have to call me that."

Haruka assumed that Souichi heard the name from the Queen or Malachite. It was a good thing that Souichi knew the name so he could use it in front of others but when they were alone, Haruka preferred not being called the name 'Bob-Joe'.

Souichi paused for a moment, looking over Haruka before waving the blonde over to his desk. The blonde followed and for the first time, noticed how weary Souichi looked. His body was slouched and his usually lively eyes were dull and droopy.

"Is something wrong?" Haruka asked, voicing her concern.

Souichi forced a smile onto his face and shook his head. "Nothing is wrong. Now, I wanted to ask you what you did today?"

"What I did?" Haruka frowned. Did Malachite come talk to Souichi? Haruka thought that they had successfully convinced Malachite that Haruka was not the thief. Was Souichi angry that Haruka had been caught? She had assured Souichi that Malachite wouldn't know that she had searched her room when Haruka thought of the idea of breaking in. Was Souichi angry that she had not kept her word?

"Yes, what did you do?"

Haruka evaluated Souichi carefully. Souichi did not seem angry, yet he felt different today. The blonde couldn't quite finger it, but something was not normal. Haruka kept her eyes on Souichi as she answered coolly, "I did what you asked me to do."

"I mean other than your castle chores. I helped you get in to the castle didn't I? We don't keep secrets between us. Let me ask you, did you break into Malachite's room?"

Alarms started blaring in Haruka's brain. This person was not Souichi. Souichi would have known the plan. Souichi had asked Haruka for the favor and had finally let Haruka break in to Malachite's room. But if this wasn't Souichi, who was he? Haruka had the urge to leap over the table and pin the man to the ground and demand where Souichi is, but fought the urge. She would play along until she could buy do some research to understand what was going on. "No, why would I do a stupid thing like that?"

Souichi laughed. The laugh was cold and hollow. "Of course, why would you do that?"

"It's getting late, I should go," Haruka said abruptly, pushing her chair back.

"Wait a moment," Souichi said suddenly, putting his hand on Haruka's shoulder. "Why were you knocking on my door?"

"Er," Haruka racked her brain for a reply. "You told me to check in with you everyday before bedtime for things to do in the morning."

Souichi let go of Haruka's shoulder. "Right. I must have forgotten."

Haruka nodded stiffly and strode over to the door. As the blonde past the door, her eyes caught something glittering in the air. Haruka's eyes widened slightly. It was a strand of silver thread. Her eyes followed the thread, and found that it led to Souichi. Shifting her eyes, the other end seemed to fade away into thin air. What did this mean?

"Is something wrong?" Souichi called from his desk.

Haruka frowned and turned to look at the professor. "No, nothing is wrong professor. Have a great night."

* * *

"Anna, look closely," Haruka whispered into the girl's ear. "Do you see anything? Anything at all?"

The girl shook her head as she strained her eyes. "No, what am I suppose to see?"

"Try harder," Haruka urged.

"Oh," Anna gasped, her eyes widening.

"What did you see?" Haruka asked.

"Souichi seems to have some white hair, I didn't know that," Anna said, as she peered around the giant vase they were hiding behind. "Is that what you wanted me to see?"

Haruka sighed and shook his head. "Well, thanks anyway."

"No problem," Anna said, grinning brightly. "Call me if you need anything else."

Haruka nodded and waved as Anna disappeared behind a corner. As soon as Anna left, her thoughts returned to the silver threads. She concluded that they were similar to the ones she had touched in Malachite's room. Yet, why was she the only person that could see the thread? She had dragged Taiki and Anna to spy on Souichi –there was no way Haruka was going to stoop down to ask Seiya to help her-- but none of them were able to see the threads. Was she seeing things? No, there was definitely something wrong with Souichi and only the threads could explain them. Haruka had considered going to find Malachite and demanding what he had done. This was clearly his work.

However, if Haruka did go, Malachite would know she was the one who snuck into his office. In addition, Haruka no longer had Souichi to back him up and if Haruka accused Souichi of being a dark sorcerer and brought the issue to the Queen, she would most likely not believe him. After all, he was just a palace servant and Malachite had a lot of influence. Plus, he had a fake Souichi on his side. There was no way Haruka could reveal her true identity either.

"I need to find Michiru," Haruka whispered. She had a feeling that they could figure this out together. It would just be like all the times where they spent their evenings in their room figuring out the puzzles Setsuna assigned to them. Haruka rose from the floor to search for Michiru but images of the night before started to drift into her mind and images of Michiru leaning over towards her caused Haruka to rethink her decision.

Haruka groaned. There were too many problems. Could she sort out their issues as well? And what about her feelings? This was definitely not the time to bring it up. They were in a difficult situation; Michiru was going to be engaged to Seiya and might never return to Pluto and Malachite was planning to take over the world. Well, perhaps not take over the world, but he wasn't brining peace and prosperity to the land. Working with Michiru might not be the best idea at this time.

"Seiya," Haruka whispered. Though she disliked him, he seemed to be the only choice. Beggars can't be choosers, Haruka reminded herself as she gritted her teeth. He definitely had some influence and power and he is on her side. They have a few issues to deal with, but at least she wasn't falling for him. Haruka nearly choked at the though. He will have to do. "But one wrong move Seiya, and I'm going to pummel you into the ground."

* * *

Malachite leaned back in his chair as he stared at a doll that was floating in the air in front of him. His eyes drifted to the thread of magic that led out of the room and to the four threads that circled around his desk. How had the intruder gotten away? All those who had activated the threads were instantly captured. No one has ever escaped.

At first he had thought that it was Bob-Joe, yet what had happened at the pond and what Bob-Joe said to Souichi did not support his theory. At first, he had thought that Seiya and Michiru were lying but then, why would they do that to aid a castle servant. In addition, Malachite was quite sure the intruder was a woman. He was quite sure that the intruder wore a miniskirt. Not many men would go through with that even if they wanted to disguise themselves. Yet, there was always a chance that his intruder could be one so he used Souichi to double check. He had heard from his spies that Bob-Joe was not really a castle servant. Souichi had brought him into the castle and claimed that he would be working as his assistant for a few months. If Bob-Joe had any secrets, he would tell Souichi. It seemed that he had achieved nothing in his search.

"No matter," Malachite said coldly, snapping his fingers. The doll floated down to his open palm and the man closed his hand around the small figure. The doll was light, and felt cool to the touch. Malachite rubbed his thumb against the fabric thoughtfully. Soon… He opened his desk drawer and placed the doll inside. "No one would be able to stop me. Who ever you are, I will find you."

It was almost time. He would regain what was once his and no one would be able to stop him…

* * *

Author's Note: Please forgive me for the thing with Seiya and Michiru. I know some of you wanted a scene between Michiru and Haruka but that won't be possible at the time.

* * *


	19. Side by Side

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Side by Side

* * *

Haruka glanced uneasily around the marketplace, waiting for Seiya to arrive. The raven-haired man had asked Haruka to meet him at noon by the clock tower in the town square. Haruka had finished all the tasks Souichi had assigned her extra early and snuck out the palace. Haruka tapped her foot impatiently. It was now half past noon and there was no sign of Seiya.

Pulling at her plain white shirt, Haruka tried to ignore the stifling heat. The sun shone brightly in the sky above, showering the entire marketplace in warmth. Looking up, there were no signs of clouds or anything that would reduce the heat. The clear blue sky stretched interrupted like a plain canvas for miles and miles in all directions. In addition to the heat, there was also no sign of any wind. Everything was completely still; there weren't any tree leaves rustling or wind chimes tinkling. Even the plants seemed to droop on this hot summer day. The Neptunian shopkeepers sat unenergetically by their stands, not bothering to attract any customers because of the heat.

The blonde growled loudly as she searched the crowd again. If Seiya was playing a joke on him, it was definitely not amusing. Once she got back, she would hunt him down and toss him into the ocean to be eaten my hungry sharks.

"Hey Haruka!"

Spinning around, Haruka found a raven-haired man walking unhurriedly towards her. Seiya's trademark grin flashed across his face as he stopped in front of an unimpressed blonde. In fact, Haruka was fuming. Grabbing Seiya by the collar, Haruka asked him angrily where he was.

"Ah, you see," Seiya said, chuckling nervously. "I had some difficulties convincing the queen to let me take someone along out with me."

Haruka glared at Seiya with narrowed eyes, her grasp on Seiya's collar still firm.

"See, after the thing I did with Michiru last night, the queen was hesitant to let me take her out of the castle."

"Michiru?" Haruka's grasp loosened and her eyes looked at Seiya uncertainly. Overlooking what Seiya did with Michiru, the blonde turned around and found the aqua-haired woman standing quietly behind her. Seeing that Haruka had noticed her, Michiru bit her lip and stared at the ground. When Seiya had asked her if she wanted to get out of the castle, Michiru had instantly said yes. She hadn't been to the market place in such a long time and her mother would have never let her go if she had asked. However, Seiya said that he wanted to take Michiru out so they could have enjoy the day and work on their relationship. The Queen eventually agreed. Michiru was elated but she didn't expect that Seiya had asked Haruka to meet him. If she had known, Michiru would have most likely stayed in the palace and avoided the embarrassment.

Feeling light footsteps head towards her, Michiru bit her lip and focused on keeping her head down. She couldn't face Haruka. Not after what she almost did yesterday.

"Michiru, could we--"

"It's alright Haruka," Michiru said, forcing her voice to work. It sounded unreal and high, but Michiru continued. "There is no need to discuss what occurred yesterday. It was an accident."

The footsteps stopped.

"I… understand."

Michiru felt Haruka's fingers slide underneath her chin. Gently, Haruka lifted Michiru's head so that she looked her in the eyes.

"In that case…" Haruka hesitated slightly as she looked at Michiru. Was what Michiru said true? If it was, then there was no concern that Michiru's feelings would interfere with their mission. Haruka just needed to deal with her own. The blonde sighed deeply. She had hoped that after they finished this, they might be able to start a relationship back on Pluto. She had realized, last night, that she had fallen for Michiru. Those hints that Setsuna and Yaten had given her had begun to stir in Haruka's mind and the young woman had thought about it for the entire night. However, it seemed that it was a misunderstanding. In a way, this was a good thing. Michiru would not have feelings for Haruka that would endanger herself or the mission. Haruka just needed to lock away her own feelings. "In that case, let's both work on saving Neptune together."

Michiru nodded. "Seiya has told me everything about Malachite."

Haruka shook her head, once again feeling annoyed with the dense air and lack of wind. "We need to find a quieter spot to discuss this."

Turning to Seiya, Haruka motioned for him to come over.

"Haruka…"

The blonde turned to Michiru. She looked at her partner in concern. Something in Michiru's voice told her that something was not quite right. The shorter girl appeared to be very pale and was even shaking slightly. Seiya stopped beside Haruka and looked at the staring blonde imploringly.

"Haruka… something bad is coming," Michiru whispered.

As if on cue, the ground began to tremble. A crack formed in the ground nearby and spread outwards. From that single crack, hundreds of other breaks spread outwards. Suddenly, the ground burst open and a large rock like creature broke out from beneath the surface.

Forgetting Seiya, Haruka grabbed her partner's wrist and led them both through the panicking crowd. People shoved and cried, as the towering monster roared and stomped on the ground. Haruka fought through the crowd, while keeping a firm hold on Michiru. Despite what it seemed, Haruka's eyes never left Michiru. To her surprise, Michiru didn't seem as terrified as everyone else. Haruka felt Michiru squeeze the hand Haruka was holding on and met Haruka's eyes.

She was not afraid as long as Haruka was with there with her. They would both face this monster together.

Understanding the unsaid message, Haruka nodded. Breaking into a run, Haruka sped around a corner and the two found themselves near the docks. Spotting a dark alleyway, the blonde dragged Michiru to safety. The two watched from a distance as the creature ripped off the top of a building.

"Do you have your transformation pen?" Haruka asked, reaching into her pocket for her own.

"I always keep it with me," Michiru said and lifted her pen.

"Uranus Planet Power!"

"Neptune Planet Power!"

Stomp, stomp, crush, boom. Sighing softly, the giant smashed another building. If his master wanted him to crush buildings, we would have to crush buildings. After spending fifteen long years hiding in the outskirts of the solar system, he was suddenly called forward to crush buildings. How long had it been since he had last been summoned by a dark mage? The old mages had ruled over his race for as long as he could remember but he had thought that they were all dead. Though his race could survive in outer space, the mages, despite their power, clearly could not perform such a feat for such a long period of time. Suddenly, a ball of energy sped past the creature, nearly hitting him.

Dropping the building it was holding, the creature turned to find to people standing on top of the clock tower, both back to back. One had messy sandy blonde hair and deep green eyes. The woman seemed to radiate with untamed power that flowed like the wind around her. The other woman had aqua-hair and stormy blue eyes. Her power was like the roaring ocean, crashing down in a wave a power.

"Who are you two?"

"Summoned by the new age, I, Sailor Uranus, dance with elegance."

"Summoned by the new age, I, Sailor Neptune, dance with grace."

"Sailor Senshi?" The creature now recognized the outfits the two women wore. It had lost to the past Senshi but it did not intend for that to happen again. The creature smiled as he examined the two women. This was getting more interesting.

"World Shaking!"

The creature smiled and leaped upwards as the giant ball of light sped underneath it. The monster landed on the ground and turned to face Sailor Uranus with a unimpressed expression. "The last Sailor Uranus was much better."

"Just wait for it," Uranus taunted.

The creature turned around and gasped as the yellow ball of light turned around and headed towards it once again. It was too late to move now; all the rock creature could do was brace itself for the impact.

A giant boom sounded in the air, sending rocks flying everywhere.

The dust cleared and Uranus and Neptune waited with baited breath. A shrill roar burst out and was instantly followed by an avalanche of dirt that was aimed at Uranus and Neptune. Not expecting the attack, both scouts were sent flying to the ground.

Neptune groaned and clutched her head as she tried to sit up. As she did, rocks and dirt slid down from her clothes. Her entire body felt like a giant pile of bricks had crushed her, which was actually quite similar to what had just happened. Glancing to her left, she saw Uranus scramble painfully onto her feet. The blonde winced slightly as she moved and Neptune realized that her partner had a cut across her right shoulder.

"Uranus—"

"I'm fine, we have to focus on defeating this creature," Uranus said sharply. "Do not worry about me."

Neptune nodded, and painfully got onto her feet as well. The young woman ignored her body's cry of protest and forced herself to stand up. She could not let Uranus do this alone.

"Neptune Deep Submerge!" Neptune cried, calling forth a giant ball of water. She needed to end this quickly. Taking aim, Neptune sent the ball at the rock like creature.

Grinning, the creature slammed the ball on energy back at the two warriors. This time, both women were prepared and leaped out of the way. Neptune was forced to separate and landed on top of a beat up building across from where Uranus had set down on. The ball crashed harmlessly into a building, spraying water everywhere in the process. As droplets of water rained down on the three figures, none of them moved.

"It is a pity that such weak warriors have become the legendary Sailor senshi."

Breathing heavily, Uranus glared at the creature as it continued to taunt them. Neptune noticed that Uranus' wound was still bleeding. Her eyes followed the trail of blood that trickled down her shoulders and to her elbows where the gently dripped onto the floor. Her ocean blue eyes followed the droplets of blood that fell to the ground. Neptune's heart clenched painfully.

"Uranus…" she whispered softly.

Uranus clasped her wounded arm with her left hand. Glaring at the monster, Uranus tried with difficulty to summon another attack. A spark formed in her right hand but quickly disappeared.

The creature tilted its head to one side as if listening to something. It seemed displeased as it turned to the two fallen senshi.

"It looks like you are going down first Uranus," the creature said and lifted its arms. Hundreds of sharp rocks and pebbles rose from the ground and hovered in the area surrounding the rock creature. His race hated blood shed, especially on little ones. The creature could tell that these two were not even adults yet. However, orders were orders.

Neptune's eyes widened as she saw what it was about to do. Her eyes darted to the injured Uranus and she realized that her partner would not be able to withstand the attack. Without thinking, Neptune lifted off from the building she was standing on and sprinted towards Uranus. Out of the corner of her eyes, Neptune saw the creature cry out a word and the rocks starting to shoot forward.

Uranus braced herself for the attack. She had failed. The blonde closed her eyes and waited for the blow. She heard rocks wiz past her but did not feel anything hit. Opening her eyes, Uranus saw her partner standing in front of her, blocking the rocks from hitting her.

"Neptune!"

The smaller girl collapsed and Uranus rushed forward to catch Neptune in her arms. Cuts and bruises were littered all over Neptune's delicate body and her outfit was torn in many areas. Uranus clutched tightly onto Neptune, tears forming in her eyes. The smaller girl held on tightly to Uranus with her gloved hands with a sad smile on her face.

"Why? Why did you do that?" Uranus asked in a strangled voice. She pulled Neptune closer to her, as if expecting the smaller girl to disappear if she did not hold on tight enough.

"I'm sorry Uranus," Neptune said weakly. She looked sadly into Uranus' eyes and a smile flickered across her face. Those warm eyes. She could stare into Uranus' eyes forever and still be content. The girl buried her face in Uranus' shirt. "I'm sorry Uranus. I –I love you. I have loved you for quite a while. You were always there for me and promised me that no matter what happened, that you would always be there by my side. Everything in my life seemed so perfect and I was content just to have you there with me.

"But it ended all too quickly. Yaten came and I found out that you had a relationship with him. I was devastated but kept quiet. Many times I wanted to strangle Yaten but found that I was unable to do so. You seemed happy around him and I didn't want to ruin it for you. Then we got into a fight. You trusted Mimet and Yaten more that you trusted me. I tried to continue on and pushed away the feelings I had for you. When it became unbearable, I received a letter from my mother, telling me to return home. I was glad for an excuse to leave. I couldn't stand to watch you and Yaten together.

"Yet you followed me to Neptune. I did not understand why you wanted to haunt me like this. If it weren't for you, I would have soundlessly married Seiya. You came and I did not know what to do. So I pushed you away. Yet you stayed and said that you would always be there for me and you wanted to take me back to Pluto with you. Haruka, I truly wanted to say yes."

Neptune lifted her gloved hand and gently placed it on Uranus' cheek. "Its too late now. If I had the chance now, I would talk to my mother and convince her to let me return to Pluto with you. Seiya and I would both talk to our parents and explain how we do not wish to be engaged to one another. I know you still love Yaten, but Haruka… I want you to know that I truly love you with all my heart."

Uranus hugged Neptune's body and cried silently. The blonde could hear the creature preparing to launch another attack. If this was how it was going to end, then so be it. It didn't matter as long as she was with Michiru.

The rock creature cried out a word and the rocks shot forward. Haruka braced for the attack. However, for the second time today, it never came. A pale blue light had suddenly engulfed the two Senshi and Uranus' glanced up to find a small mirror floating in between them and the rock creature. The small mirror glowed softly and a shield formed around the two senshi, reflecting all the rocks that came crashing towards them.

Then the glow flickered and faded away. The mirror clattered onto the ground in front of Neptune. Uranus watched as the smaller woman slowly untransformed. Her fuku faded away and was replaced by her civilian clothing. Though still unconscious, Michiru's face was regaining some color.

Displeased, the creature stomped forward. This battle should have been finished long ago. He did not want to fight any longer. Uranus clung on tightly to Michiru, there was no way she could stop this creature. However, the creature stopped in its tracks just before it reached Uranus. Turning around, the creature yelled, "Who is there?"

"Deep Sea Current Call!"

Uranus glanced up and saw a woman with marine blue hair that reached to her waist standing on top of a building. Uranus noticed that the fuku the woman wore was basically the same as Neptune's except her fuku was sapphire colored. The fuku also had long bows and her broach was shaped like a seashell. The woman raised a flute to her lips and played a beautiful melody.

Uranus glanced toward the ocean and felt the blue-green body of water rumbling. Suddenly, a spiral of water rose from the ocean and started to twist around the rock creature. The creature roared angrily and fought against the spirals of water. The flute grew louder and the water completely engulfed the creature.

Gently finishing the melody, the woman lowered the flute and jumped down from the building. She landed softly on her feet and started to walk towards Uranus however the creature suddenly broke free of the water and sent a barrage of rocks flying in at the woman. Seeing this, she leap back but was hit by a few stray rocks. She fell backwards and landed on the wet ground. Water came showering down on everyone in the area. Haruka closed her eyes as she felt the cold droplets of seawater hit her face.

Shaking slightly, Neptina pushed herself up into a sitting position. The effects of her illness were starting to show in her performance. Water slid down the woman's face and her fuku was drenched from head to toe. The Queen brushed back a few locks of wet hair and weakly reached out with her hand to grasp the flute she had dropped when she was hit by the rocks.

"Sailor Neptune," the creature sneered as droplets of water continued to pour down around them. Its eyes focused on the woman through the veil of rain. Though he did not have any personal grudge against the two young ones, this one was an exception. "Long time no see. I believe the last time I saw you was on the border of the solar system. You and your friends had forced me away and turned my body into smithereens. I'm afraid your friends aren't with you today."

The creature sent a wave of mud and rocks over to Sailor Neptune, however the attack was stopped when a wave of yellow light whipped forward and collided with the attack. Rocks flew everywhere and showered everyone in the clearing. Haruka's head snapped up when she heard a familiar voice call out.

"She is not alone. Warrior of the Heavens, I, Sailor Uranus, dance with grace."

"Keeper of time, I am Sailor Pluto. The planet shall not fall to you, time will tell."

The two new warriors landed softly by Neptina and helped her up. Sailor Neptune pulled away from Uranus. "I do not need your help Urana."

"It seems we have no choice dear Neptina," Sailor Uranus replied, facing her former partner. Reaching out with her hand, she summoned a jeweled sword. "Just like old times."

Dashing forward, Sailor Uranus held out her sword and cried, "Space Sword Blaster!"

Her attack hit and the rock creature stumbled backwards, falling on top on top of the clock tower. "Call of the rocks!"

The ground shook and hundreds of rock soldiers burst from the ground. Their bodies were comprised of rocks yet they assumed a human form. The smaller rock creatures turned their blank rock faces towards the three older scouts and started walking forwards.

"Pluto Deadly Scream."

The wind whipped angrily as Pluto summoned a massive orb of energy. Pointing her staff at the rock army, she sent the ball of energy flying into the army. A small explosion took place and some rock men disintegrated while others stumbled. Those who fell but were able to continue walking crawled back up and started walking forwards once again. The three scouts backed away warily.

"We have to split up," Uranus called.

"Who allowed you to order us around?" Neptune snapped, as the three scouts continued to back away from the rock army. She took her eyes off the rock people and glared angrily at Uranus. "If I remember correctly, last time you told us to split up, one of us got killed."

Sailor Uranus angrily spun around to meet Neptune's eyes. Her blue-green eyes were mixed with anger and sadness as memories of the battle on Pluto returned to her. She had buried the memory deep in the back of her mind for many years and now, the wounds from the past arose once again, slashing angrily at her. Urana wanted to argue back but found that she couldn't. She wasn't sure anymore whether she had made the right decision as the leader.

"Nothing to say dear Urana?" Neptune asked furiously as tears of frustration and sadness filled her ocean blue eyes.

The rock people took their victims' distraction as a chance and jumped forward to attack. Whirling around, the three scouts leapt back.

Looking behind her, Pluto leapt into the air and landed on top of a building. They couldn't waste any more time. Spotting the first rock creature, she jumped over from her building to the next and headed towards it. If that rock creature was defeated, then the army would disappear.

"I did what I thought was best at that time," Urana said, trying to keep her anger from bubbling up. The warrior blocked an attack from a rock person and aimed a kick at another that was on her right. The woman winced as pain shot through her lower leg and decided it was best not to kick the rock people. "Give me a break Neptina! All I have heard from you over these past fifteen years is what I have done wrong!"

Neptune laughed hollowly. "I suppose you think you're perfect?"

"No," Urana replied as the two warriors jumped on top of a building and out of reach of the rock people. "I have flaws and I am willing to admit it. However, it seems that you won't admit yours. You think you are perfect Neptina, you think that whatever decision you make is correct! This blinds you. You think that everything you do is correct and refuse to acknowledge other people's ideas and feelings."

"What do you know about me?" Neptina asked angrily, as she clenched her shaking hands.

"I know that you have been trying over the past fifteen years to make your daughter perfect. Let me tell you, no one is perfect! By doing this you will only make her unhappy. Your expectations will restrict her from telling you what she really wants in life and the freedom that everyone should have the right to experience."

Neptune clenched and unclenched her hands as Uranus spat the words out. What Urana said couldn't be true. She was giving the best for Michiru. She was carving a path for Michiru and preparing her for the challenges that lay ahead. Michiru would never crumble and never fall. Michiru would become a great ruler and lead a happy life.

_Perfection never brought you happiness_, Neptina thought to herself. She did become a great ruler that would be remembered by all Neptunians for all time. Yet, she had missed out a lot in life. She never married the person she loved, she never had any choices in what she wanted, and she seldom had time set aside for fun.

Now as she looked back on it, Michiru had always wanted more time for herself and away from her studies. There had been countless times when Michiru would ask if she could leave the castle to visit the market place and walk by the ocean. Many evenings, Neptina would catch her daughter staring longingly out her window.

"Ahh!"

The two scouts spun around to find Sailor Pluto struggling in the first rock creature's grasp. Turning to face Uranus and Neptune, the giant rock creature called back his minions. "Surrender or your friend dies."

Uranus' eyes widened. Dropping to her knees, memories from what had happened almost fifteen years ago flooded back.

"_Uranus!"_

_Sailor Uranus scrambled on her feet as she saw vines bursting out from the ground and wrapped themselves around Sailor Pluto. Her time staff clattered onto the ground. The crimson-eyed woman cried in pain as the vines tightened their hold around her petit body and lifted her up into the air._

_Lifting her sword, Uranus cried out, "Space Sword Blaster!"_

_There was a small explosion as the blast from her sword hit the root of the vines, causing dust to gather up in the air. The dust cleared and Uranus's eyes widened as the dust revealed the vines to be unharmed._

"_It's no use," laughed the mage. "Your friend is mine unless you surrender to us."_

_The violet-eyed man faced Uranus, his calm eyes meeting Uranus' blazing blue-green orbs. Smirking softly, the man made a symbol with his hands, causing the vines to glow a blood red color. Ruby screamed out in pain once again._

"_Ruby!" Urana yelled as she ran forward. She had to save her friend. A rainfall of arrows that rained down in front of her blocked the woman from reaching her friend. Uranus bristled with anger. "Don't you dare hurt her!"_

"_Surrender to me."_

_Urana curled her hands into fists. It was their duty to protect the solar system. She couldn't let the invaders win. However, they still had other chances. They were currently just after planet Pluto. They could surrender and regroup on planet Neptune. The forces were stronger there. The blonde let the information roll over in her mind. Yet, giving up Pluto would mean that their enemy's forces would grow larger as well. Urana glanced from Ruby to the enemy. What was she to do? The blonde was saved from making the decision when she heard Sailor Pluto's voice._

"_Urana..."_

_The blonde turned to face the petite woman wrapped up in the vines. Ruby's tired crimson eyes shook Urana's soul. Ruby appeared much more tired than she usually was after the death of the King of Pluto. Her bright eyes had dulled and her spirit had dwindled. Yet she continued to fulfill her duties as Queen and raise Setsuna to the best of her abilities. Urana stared deeply at Ruby as if searching for something._

"_Urana... You cannot give up Pluto. Please... If you have to, give me up to the enemy. It is no loss for us. Me for the lives of thousands. Do what you must."_

"_Ruby... You cannot give up like this," Urana argued passionately. "You may have lost your King, but you have a daughter, Neptina and me!"_

"_Setsuna is old enough to take care of herself. I have taught her everything I known..." Ruby winced in pain as the vines slowly tightened. "Please Urana. This will be my last duty as the Queen of Pluto."_

_Urana looked deeply into Ruby's eyes. "Ruby..."_

"_You are wasting time," the mage called out. "This woman or the planet, which do you want?"_

Uranus felt as if someone was toying with her. Faced again with the same decision, the blonde did not know what to do. She sat helplessly on the ground as she watched the monster tighten its grip on Setsuna.

Beside her Neptune's face paled. No. Ruby had died to protect her daughter and her home. She could not let her sacrifice go to waste. She could loose another friend. Yet… the marine-haired woman glanced uncertainly at the rock army that surrounded the creature and her eyes found Michiru and lying unconscious in Urana's daughter's arms. If she surrendered… then… The Queen looked over her city and her planet.

Neptina stepped forward. "Do not harm her. Take me instead. I would be much more valuable to you."

Sailor Neptune felt someone grab her wrist and looked down to see Uranus' gloved hand wrapped around her wrist. She met her partner's eyes and for the first time in fifteen years, she felt some warmth and familiarity in them.

"Don't do it." Uranus said softly.

"I can't let them take Neptune."

"I… I can't let them take you." Uranus whispered.

"What could we do then?" the uncertainty in Neptina's voice was new to Uranus. Neptina was a confident woman, always sure of her decisions.

Urana suddenly felt guilty for not trying to mend their friendship over the last fifteen years. Neptina had changed. She could tell that the other woman had become less sure of herself. Urana had known Neptina for a long time, and even though many Neptunians could boast that their ruler was confident and precise in all her decisions, Urana could see through Neptina's mask. She knew that Neptina was not as strong as she appeared to be and when she was young, had always needed support from her, Ruby and Asuran. Now that Asuran was gone, all she had was Michiru left. Urana's heart clenched painfully. Though Neptina had been too proud to come seek her out, she should have gone to her friend. After all, they were in the same boat. Was it too late now?

Urana looked deeply into Neptina's eyes and smiled reassuringly. If they were to fall now, they would fall together. Urana had missed her partner.

"We could fight together until we draw our last breath." Uranus said fiercely. "Both Haruka and Michiru have transformed. They could take care of our planets. Queen Serenity would also be there for them."

A flicker of hope and confidence flashed across Neptune's eyes. "All right then, even if it takes our lives, we'll save Setsuna and fight the rock creature until we fall."

Neptune gently pulled Urana on to her feet. "Are you ready?"

Uranus nodded. "Together then."

* * *

Author's Note: I made up Neptina's attack but don't like the name very much. Lol, I'm not really good at naming stuff. Does anyone have any ideas for a name for a combined attack for Urana and Neptina? If you have any suggestions you could post them on the review. You could include a description of the attack too if you want. 


	20. Reunited

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Notes: Enjoy!

* * *

Reunited

* * *

Sailor Neptune rushed forward with Uranus by her side. She could feel the light footsteps of her partner beside her as they hopped over buildings and headed towards the creature. Neptina felt her heart flutter with happiness of being reunited with her partner. She hadn't felt like this in quite a long time. Ignoring the burning feeling in her body caused by her illness, Neptina rushed forward along side Uranus.

Both senshi skidded to a halt on a building right in front of the creature. Glancing at Neptune, Uranus nodded and raised her blade.

"Are you ready?"

"As long as you are," Neptune said sincerely.

Uranus smiled and putting all her remaining energy into this one last attack, yelled, "Space Sword Blaster!"

A giant ball of energy burst forward, scorching half the rooftop.

Neptina followed, drawing up all her energy and forcing it into her attack. "Deep Sea Current Call!"

A tunnel of water burst out from the flute and twisted around Uranus' attack. The attacks combined and formed a giant ball of energy that they shot at the side of the creature so they wouldn't hit Pluto. Gaining speed, the ball of energy crumbled the ground underneath as it skimmed over to the monster. The wind and ocean roared loudly in the background and dark clouds tumbled overhead. Holding their breath, two senshi watched tensely as their attack shot forward.

Gasping in surprise, the creature dropped Pluto and raised his arms to block the attack. There was a giant explosion of light as the ball collided with the creature and it was a struggle for dominance as the monster tried to push the ball of energy away.

The wind whipped wildly around the creature and the ocean roared, its waves rising higher each time. Both Uranus and Neptune willed their attack to overthrow the monster, and the ball of energy grew bigger and brighter. Grunting, the creature forced the giant ball of energy over his head, where it disappeared in to the horizon. Both senshi watched in shock as the attack vanished into the darkness.

Neptina fell to her knees with a look of disbelief in her sapphire eyes. They threw everything into that attack. Every ounce of power they had left, every ounce of hope they had for the future. It was all gone. They had lost. Her flute clattered to the floor where it shattered. Looking to her right, she could tell Urana didn't have enough power to fight either. Neptune smiled bitterly as she looked at Uranus' tattered fuku, tangled hair and bruised body. The blonde's usually bright eyes were filled with tears of frustration.

Uranus hit the ground angrily with her gloved hand. They had thrown everything into that attack and still lost. "No…"

Neptina shakily got onto her knees and crawled over to her partner. Placing an arm around Urana's shoulder, Neptina silently lowered herself to face Urana and smiled softly. Urana's eyes warmed and she hugged Neptina. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect the planet for you."

Neptina squeezed Urana's shoulder reassuringly. "Queen Serenity will not let the planet fall. I'm content enough that we have made up before I die."

Neptune rested her head against Uranus' shoulder and closed her eyes. "I just feel that bad that we are taking Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru to the underworld with us. They will not be allowed to live."

Uranus lifted her head to look at her daughter below holding Michiru in her arms. They deserved better. They were both still so young; this shouldn't be their fate. Urana's eyes filled with tears once again as she looked at her daughter. "The deserve better. We can't let them die."

Uranus weakly tried to push herself off the floor but found that her arms felt like noodles and were unable to support her. Collapsing back onto the floor again, the woman tried again. "We can't let Haruka and Michiru…"

Painfully, Neptune watched her partner struggle to continue on. Determination shimmered in Uranus' blue-green eyes. It would be a shame if the solar system lost such a person like Urana. Though too proud to admit it, Neptune admired her partner greatly. When she was young, she had always strived to be what Urana was. Confident, carefree, determined, strong and brave. Neptina may have seemed perfect and whole on the outside, but in the inside, she was unsure and weak. Urana was her role model. Neptina was only the person she was today because of her partner and Ruby. Now it was her turn to support her friend.

Pulling Uranus' arm over her shoulder, Neptina shakily got onto her knees and pulled her partner onto her feet. Both woman leaned against each other for support as they struggled to stand and continue to fight. The marine-haired woman could feel her muscles burning in pain, but pushed the discomfort out of her mind. "You were always so stubborn and you still are."

Uranus grinned. "You've grown stronger."

Neptina silently told herself that it was only thanks to Uranus that she was so strong.

"It's time to end this," the rock creature said and formed a dark ball of energy in between its hands. Spinning uncontrollably, the ball shot forward towards the building Uranus and Neptune were standing on.

As the ball shot towards them, the planetary symbols suddenly started to glow on Neptune's and Uranus' forehead. Glancing down, Uranus noticed that the symbols on Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru were glowing as well. Just before the attack hit, a sparkling barrier formed between Urana and Neptune and the ball.

"I could feel the energy from the other scouts flowing through me," Urana whispered. A brilliant light enveloped the two older scouts. Ribbons danced and spiraled around the dome of light. As the light faded, Urana found herself dressed in a smooth, silver gown that reached down to her ankles. Looking down, Urana discovered a long emerald colored sash wrapped around her waist. On her shoulders was a light green cloak that billowed lightly in the wind.

Urana gasped in surprise as she gazed at Neptina. Her partner was dressed in a royal blue, sleeveless gown with pearls sewn in to the fabric. In addition, there were stunning flowers embroidered onto the dress. An elegant gold necklace sparkled softly around her neck, various bracelets shimmered on her wrist as she moved and delicately placed on top of Neptina's head was a pearl and bead headpiece.

Floating in between the two women was a beautiful staff with jewels encrusted along the sides. Place on top of the staff was a clear orb. What was particular about the orb was that inside it were miniature replicas of the planets Pluto, Uranus and Neptune. Sparkles floated around the staff, making the entire situation seem unreal. Reaching forward, Urana closed her hand around the staff and Neptina soon followed the action. Wind whirled around the two women and Urana and Neptina both closed their eyes as they felt energy flow into their bodies.

Looking up and glaring at the rock creature, the two Queens sent their energy forward and a blast of light erupted from the tip of the staff. The electric blue light twisted and took shape of a large dragon that lunged forward to attack its prey. Roaring loudly, the dragon extended its claws and slammed into the rock creature. A burst of light filled the clearing and everyone watched breathlessly as the light faded away.

Blinking away the spots that filled their vision, Neptina and Urana both collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. However, there efforts were rewarded as they looked down at the crater in the middle of the city to find nothing more but a pile of motionless rocks.

* * *

Neptina tucked Michiru in her bed after having the healers check up on the girl. She had made sure that Michiru was fine before having her healers check up on herself. Neptina would have had held the healers back longer if they didn't have other business to attend to. The city was in ruins and numerous people injured throughout the city as a result of the battle. Many of the citizens had sought refuge in the castle and were being looked after by the palace servants.

Neptina rubbed her temples, knowing that she would have to talk to the citizens soon for an explanation and plans to rebuild the city. Turning her head slightly to gaze outside the window, the Queen sighed softly. Half the buildings have collapsed, the docks were damaged and falling apart, and there were numerous craters littered all over the ground. Though the rock creature had caused all this damage, the Queen had to admit that half of the mess also belonged to her and Urana. This would take some time, and they still did not know who was behind this. This took her back to the darker days when she and Asuran were rebuilding Neptune because of the damage done by the dark mages. This time, she would have Urana to help her, Neptina reminded herself and smiled softly.

Urana and Haruka were currently being checked over. Apparently all their major wounds had been healed when she and Urana transformed into their new forms. None of them were in serious injury though Setsuna would have to stay in the infirmary over night.

Smoothing out Michiru's tangled hair, Neptina leaned back and pondered over Urana's earlier words. Michiru had seemed so willing to do what Neptina had asked her and never questioned her decisions. Michiru always followed through without complaint, even in agreements that Neptina knew her daughter disliked greatly. Neptina had believed that it was for the good of her daughter. If Michiru were to become a good Queen, she would have to learn from an early age. However, now that Neptina let her thoughts work themselves, she realized that perhaps she had been wrong in forcing Michiru to grow up so quickly and with so many expectations. Perhaps her daughter had learned too well. She hoped that it wasn't too late for her to give Michiru another chance.

Hearing the door creak open, Neptina turned to find Urana enter the room. Smiling softly, Neptina got off the bed and gestured toward a couch placed in the corner of Michiru's room. After Urana had comfortably seated herself, Neptina sat down across the table so that she was facing the her partner.

"How is Michiru?" Urana asked.

"She should be fine," Neptina replied lightly as she looked over Urana. Now that she had time to actually look at Urana, Neptina realized that her friend had changed over the years. Her face was harsher and her eyes seemed tired. Yet, she could still see the determination on her face, courageousness, grace and strength. Actually, now that she had a chance to sit back and look at her friend, Neptina couldn't believe she had missed Haruka's relation with Urana. The resemblance between the two was too striking to just be a coincidence. "Have the healers looked to you and Haruka?"

Urana nodded and thanked Neptina for her concern. "Haruka is resting now."

Sighing, Urana said tiredly, "I'm afraid I have to apologize for my daughter's actions. She should have known better than to sneak into your palace with out your consent. I'm very disappointed in her."

"Don't be," Neptina said, causing Urana to glance up curiously. "Your daughter helped save my kingdom today and protected Michiru. Though she did enter the palace with out my knowledge and consent, I am willing to forgive her actions."

Urana opened her mouth to argue, however, Neptina beat her to it.

"Let's call it even then," Neptina said, smiling softly.

Urana grinned. "You have changed."

Neptina raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How so?"

Urana frowned as she searched for words to describe her friend. "You seem to be more forgiving and understanding now. I remember once I stole your flute to play around with and you put pink hair dye in my shampoo."

Urana laughed as she recalled the memory. "I thought the shampoo looked off but I assumed that it was strawberry flavored or something."

Neptina joined in laughing. If she was more forgiving and understanding, it was only because of Urana. She had taught her so much. No matter where she went, whenever she was with Urana, she would seem to learn more about herself and the people around her. Today was an interesting example. It still shocked her to learn that perhaps she was not correct in assuming that Urana was heartless because she chose to give up a friend to win a battle. Perhaps if she had understood back then, things would have been different.

Neptina shook her head and pushed the thought away. She would think about this later. Meanwhile, they had important matters at hand.

"As for the attack, do you have any ideas who is behind this?" Neptina asked her friend. The marine haired woman appeared to be deeply concerned over the matter. The only people the rock creatures answered to were the dark mages. Yet, they should all be dead. How was this possible? Neptina closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. In addition, there were the disasters appearing all across the planet. There had to be a relationship between the two. Was a dark mage behind all this? Neptina thought back to her studies and tried her best to dig up something that her teachers might have told her about the dark mages but came empty handed.

Urana shook her head, just as confused. Her green-blue eyes reflected her concern and worry for her friend. From what she had heard about the planet's condition, it was not good. After this attack, the enemy would need time to recharge their energy but they still didn't know who he or she was. Their enemy was going to attack again eventually, and planet Neptune was in no condition to take another attack like this.

Hearing a sharp rap on the door, the two Queens turned. After getting permission to come in, a young advisor entered the room. He nervously bit his lip as he faced the queen.

"What is it?" Neptina asked impatiently.

"We have gotten a confession from Master Souichi and the guards are holding him down now as we speak. Apparently, he said that he was responsible for the disasters on Neptune and the attempts on the princess' life."

Neptina quickly got onto her feet. "Souichi?"

Neptina shook her head. It couldn't be Souichi. She had known him for years. He had served her loyally. Whenever Neptina was unsure or concerned about an issue, she could always trust him to assist her. Neptina felt her legs weaken and was grateful when Urana stood up beside her to hold her up.

"Bring me to him," Neptina said, trying to keep her voice calm.

The young boy led the two women down the corridor. Urana glanced at her friend and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Neptina glanced up at Urana and forced a smile on to her face.

As they stepped into the throne room Neptina found Souichi with his hands behind his back, being held roughly by a few palace guards. Neptina steeled herself and strode over to the throne and sat down. She glanced at Urana and looked pointedly at a seat beside her. Urana nodded and seated herself beside the Queen.

"Is it true that you are behind all these attacks, Souichi?"

Souichi raised his head to meet Neptina's eyes. The Queen narrowed her eyes and squarely met his cold gaze. _Souichi, what are you doing?_

"It took you long enough to figure out. Yes, I am responsible for these attacks. I have wanted to become the King of Neptune for such a time. But first, I would need to dispose of some people."

Neptina got up from her thrown and walked forwards toward Souichi. Her heels clicked softly against the cold marble floor. Stopping a few steps in front of Souichi, Neptina knelt down and placed a finger under his chin. Lifting his face, Neptina looked inquiringly into the man's icy blue eyes. The eyes were unfamiliar. Frowning, Neptina tilted his head and reached into Souichi's mind with her magic.

Souichi jerked away and glared coldly at Neptina. "You do not believe that I am Souichi? Well then, perhaps if I tell you something that you have only revealed to Souichi, then you will believe me."

Neptina drew her hand away. "Tell me what?"

Souichi laughed and glanced behind Neptina to Urana. "After you married Asuran, you visited me every once in a while to share your thoughts. You felt comforted while talking to me and I helped you eased the pain you felt in your heart. You didn't want to marry Asuran. You had fallen in love with someone else; someone who could not return your love. You had fallen for Zhen."

Neptina rose unemotionally to her feet. "Take him to the dungeons."

The guards bowed and lifted the man under his arms. Turning to drag Souichi away, the guards were stopped by a blonde.

"Stop," Haruka shouted, stumbling through the doors of the thrown room. The blond clutched the wound on her shoulder as she walked up to Neptina. "Souichi is not the one who is behind this."

Neptina raised her hand to stop Haruka from continuing. "He has confessed himself."

Haruka opened her mouth to argue but Neptina glared sharply at the blonde, silencing her. Turning to glance at Souichi, Haruka watched helplessly as he was dragged into the dungeons.

"You should return to your room and rest Haruka," Neptina said nodding towards a guard, she asked him to safely return Haruka to her room. Seeing that Haruka wasn't going to comply without a fight, Neptina added, "We will discuss this later."

* * *

Neptina glanced sadly at the dark evening sky, as she stood alone on a balcony. The wind whispered softly, playing with her long marine colored tresses. It felt so peaceful just standing there after a hard day. Earlier she had made a speech to the citizens and made plans to rebuild the city. There were many other issues to worry about across the planet, but she could only do so much right now.

Neptina walked over to a chair and settled herself down. Crossing her legs, the Queen smoothed out her knee length, snow white, dress and closed her eyes. The wind seemed to wrap itself around her, comforting her and warming her heart.

"Neptina."

Slowly opening her eyes, the Queen glanced up to find Urana standing beside her. Smiling softly, Neptina told her friend to take a seat. The blonde moved to the other side of the table and drew out a chair.

"I'm really thankful that you are staying to help rebuild Neptune."

Urana nodded and glanced distantly at the starry sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight for miles. No one would have guessed that just a few hours ago, there had been a storm. Everything was oddly peaceful. Urana hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should ask Neptina the question that had been bothering her the entire day. It would be a pity to ruin the peace and friendship that they had just regained. Yet the question would not stop pestering Urana. Sighing softly, Urana faced Neptina.

"Neptina… is what Souichi said true?"

Neptina stared at her lap quietly. It didn't seem like she was going to answer at all and Urana was surprised when she heard Neptina's soft voice.

"I did. I remember the first time I met Zhen. He was kind, considerate, sensible and humorous. He told me jokes and teased me to make me laugh. No other man had ever made me feel the emotions I felt for him. Whenever I looked at him, I could feel my heart stop and my stomach flutter. Yet I said nothing. I had a duty to my planet and was already engaged to Asuran," Neptina whispered as she closed her eyes and recalled the memories.

"So I married Asuran and watched in pain as your two became lovers," Neptina slowly opened her eyes and gazed at Urana. Seeing the worried expression on her partners face, Neptina shook her head and smiled reassuringly. "The times I spent with Asuran were one of the happiest in my life. I do not love Zhen anymore."

_Yet, somewhere in my heart, I would always wonder if it could have been different. If she had told Zhen, would he still be alive? Would Ruby still be alive? Would she have lived a happier life? _

Urana smiled. "I am glad then."

Neptina nodded softly, and uncrossed her legs. She could never tell Urana her true feelings. It wouldn't do any of them any good. Zhen was dead. Asuran was dead. It was too late to do anything now and pointless to bring up.

Urana leaned forward on the table and placed her head in her hands. "You do not think Souichi is responsible for the attacks, am I correct?"

Neptina raised an eyebrow. Had Urana seen through her so easily? Leaning back in her chair, Neptina grinned. "You guessed right. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent him to the dungeons like that. If he was a dark mage, who knows what spells he could perform down there unsupervised? He is under someone's control. I was just surprised he knew about how I felt towards Asuran. He may be under someone's control, but he should not be able to gain access to Souichi's memories."

"Who do you think is responsible then?"

Neptina sighed and shook her head. "I do not know. I know he had his guard down now. We have placed Souichi in the dungeons, convincing him that we believe what Souichi said. Plus, after summoning the rock creature, his energy level is probably low."

"Is that why you wouldn't let Haruka defend Souichi back there?"

"Yes, could you tell her my intentions? I'm afraid that I haven't gotten the chance to speak with her as I promised." Neptina sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Neptina closed her eyes and shook her head. Urana couldn't help but notice that there were bags under Neptina's eyes, which was highly unusually for the usually composed

Urana's eyes softened as she looked at her exhausted friend. She had been through a lot today. Anyone in her place would have collapsed by now. "I'm sure you'll find him."

Neptina turned to Urana and nodded. The Queen felt reassured by Urana's words. They would find the person responsible for this and end it. Neptina lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she yawned. It was getting late. Shaking out her dress, Neptina rose to her feet. As she stood up, Neptina felt a wave of dizziness hit her and stumbled. Urana jumped up and held onto Neptina's waist.

"Are you alright?" Urana asked, her blue-green eyes shining with concern.

Neptina placed a hand on Urana's shoulder to steady herself. "I think I'm just tired."

Urana led Neptina back inside, feeling unsure as she looked at the glazed look in her partner's eyes.

* * *

Michiru stirred in her bed as the first rays of sunlight hit her face. Struggling to open her eyes, Michiru let out a small groan. Her entire body felt as heavy as concrete. Opening one eye, Michiru glanced around and found that she was in her room. The girl was confused at first. What had happened? Tilting her head to one side, the young woman breathed in the smell of clean laundry. Everything around her seemed normal. Michiru feebly lifted a bandaged arm. Glancing at it, Michiru was confused for a moment before realization finally dawned on her. Images of a battle drifted back into Michiru's mind. Haruka… where was Haruka? Was she… Michiru bolted up in her bed, causing the sheets on top of her to fall and reveal her bare shoulders and nightgown.

Wrapping her arms around her shoulders, Michiru gently placed her feet on to the cold, carpeted floor. Rising from the bed, Michiru felt her legs wobble beneath her and fell to her knees. The young girl grabbed hold onto the night table beside her bed.

Michiru heard someone enter the room and looked up sharply.

The Queen's eyes widened as she saw Michiru. "Michiru—"

"Where is Haruka?"

Neptina talked towards her daughter and lifted her off the floor. "She is resting in one of the guest rooms."

"She isn't hurt is she?"

"Princess Uranus has a few scratches and bruises but either than that, she is fine," Neptina said as she pressed Michiru back onto the bed. Stepping back, Neptina grabbed a chair and sat down on it so that she was facing Michiru.

Michiru breathed a sigh of relief as Neptina told her the news. Turning her head to face her mother, Michiru asked, "What happened to that rock creature? Is it gone?"

"Yes… it is gone."

The princess breathed in fresh smell of the newly changed bed sheets around her and relaxed in the warmth of the sheets around her. Everything was all right. The entire world seemed to be at peace yet something seemed wrong. Michiru rested her head against the pillow, thinking deeply. She could still sense her mother's presence beside her. The Queen never spent so much time with her because she was always pressed for time. Even when Michiru was sick, all her mother could do was sending in healers. Michiru shifted so that she was looking directly at her mother. She seemed so tired. Michiru could see bags under Queen Neptune's eyes and her usually tidy hair was loose and uncombed. Even the Queen's clothing was lacking the usually radiant appearance.

"You look tired," Michiru said softly.

Neptina smiled and shook her head. "It's been very busy during the past few days."

Michiru winced. "Was I sleeping for that long?"

Neptina nodded, looking slightly amused at Michriu's expression. "Everyone had been worried. Everyday a certain princess would come and visit you for hours against the wishes of the palace healers."

"Haruka…" Michiru smiled as she said the name. Suddenly, Michiru remembered something. Michiru lifted her head, looking directly into her mother's eyes and breathed deeply. "Mother…I want to talk to you about something."

Neptina raised an eyebrow.

"It's about Seiya and Haruka. I… I do not want to marry Seiya. I know I agreed to it before but I now realize that it would be a big mistake to marry Seiya. Seiya also disagrees with this arrangement. Please mother, could you reconsider?"

As Michiru told the Queen this, her eyes never left the older woman's face. Throughout the entire time, Neptina's face didn't betray any emotions or thoughts that passed through her. Michiru bit her lip, anxious to hear the reply. Seconds of silence passed by, yet it seemed like hours.

Sighing softly, Neptina leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. Memories of her wedding day with Asuran drifted back to her mind.

Neptina smiled sadly as she stared into the mirror. Behind her, maids scurried around like busy mice, arranging, rearranging and preparing for the big event to come. Four other maids surrounded Neptina, each working on a different part of the princess to prepare her for the wedding. Neptina sighed as a maid pinned up locks of marine colored hair. She had believed that the day a woman got married was the best one in her life. Why was she so miserable? 

_Neptina smiled bitterly as a maid asked her to turn her head so that she could add the blush on to her face. Another girl shuffled behind her, smoothing out folds in her dress. _

_"Hey, how are you doing Tina?"_

_The young woman saw her friend enter the room through the mirror and smiled softly. It looked like Urana had gone through a lot of trouble to look good for Neptina's wedding day. The Uranian disliked wearing formal clothing and would rather not go to an event than wear something like a gown. Neptina remembered a ball held at the Moon Palace where Urana had to be dragged to and then forced to wear an evening gown. Urana did wear casual skirts and dresses but the more formal things were just too much for her. Neptina was very amused, as she looked her friend over. Urana's shoulder length hair was decorated by a few sparkling hair clips and was neatly combed so that everything was in place. The blonde was also wearing a spaghetti strap dress that reached below her knees. Beside Urana, Ruby stood calmly by the door with her hair set in an elegant bun. Neptina noticed that Ruby's crimson colored dress matched beautifully with her eyes. Neptina's heart skipped a beat as she saw a young man with raven black hair entered the room. He wore a plain white tunic with black pants. His hair was neatly combed and his smile lit up the room._

_"You look beautiful," Zhen commented, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His emerald eyes shined brightly as he looked over his friend. "Congratulations, Neptina."_

_Urana laughed and nudged the young man. "You look jealous. Maybe you should find someone soon."_

_Zhen raised an eyebrow at Urana and smirked. "You should take care of yourself first before telling me that."_

_Ruby laughed, her crimson colored eyes sparkling with laughter. "He's right you know. Neptina and I are already married. What about you?"_

_"I'm not married yet," Neptina interrupted, still examining her friends through the mirror. The marine haired princess sighed inwardly, wishing that she could be as carefree as her friends right now. It seemed that they didn't have anything to worry about at all. _

_"You will be in a few hours," Urana laughed and ran up to the marine haired princess. Placing an arm around Neptina's back, Urana smiled and looked at her friend in the mirror. "You'll still have time for us after you marry Asuran right?"_

_"Of course." Neptina shifted her eyes so that she was looking at Zhen. His deep emerald eyes seemed to be staring back at her in the mirror. Neptina's heart clenched painfully as Urana's earlier words reminded her about how little choice she had in this matter. Actually, she had no choice at all._

_"Come on Ruby, Urana, we should stop bothering Neptina," Zhen said, waving them out the door. _

_Neptina felt Urana lift her arms off her shoulder. _

_"I'm not bothering anyone," Urana defended herself. Urana glanced at Neptina and thought she saw a spark of sadness flash across her partner's eyes. Urana faltered for a moment. Turning back to Zhen, she sighed softly in defeat. "All right Zhen. Let's go. Congratulations once again, Neptina."_

_Neptina nodded, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. A Neptunian princess must never show her weaknesses. A Neptunian princess must fulfill her duty and responsibilities. She couldn't reject this wedding. She couldn't be with the one she loved._

_Zhen laughed as Urana dragged him out the room, complaining about him bothering everyone. Stopping by the doorway, Zhen looked back at Neptina and said sincerely, "I just wanted to wish you a happy wedding and hope that you will live happily with Asuran for the rest of your days."_

_Neptina nodded, unable to voice her thanks to her friend because she was afraid her voice would crack. She didn't want to marry Asuran. The one she loved was standing right behind her, yet she was unable to be with him. _

She had been in Michiru's position and understood how her daughter felt. It would really be pitiful if the same mistake were to be repeated twice.

"Tell me, why did you change your mind Michiru?"

The aqua haired girl hesitated for a moment before replying. "I… I love Haruka."


	21. Tying Ends

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Tying Ends

"So you two do not think Souichi is behind all the attacks?" The smooth sheets slid down Haruka's shoulders as the blonde moved in to a sitting position to face her mother. A look of relief flashed across Haruka's face.

Queen Uranus nodded, looking amused at her daughter's expression. Urana had to admit that she had missed her daughter a lot during the past years. It seemed like such a long time since she last seen her daughter's stormy eyes, her angry frown, and her indifferent tone of voice. Yet, now as Urana looked at Haruka, she had realized that her daughter had changed as well. Urana tilted her head to one side as she examined her daughter. Urana no longer saw the little girl who liked to rebel against her mother and run thoughtlessly with the wind. Now Haruka seemed to emit a sense of calmness and control. Time seems to pass by so quickly.

Haruka raised an eyebrow at Urana and the Queen suddenly found herself looking into a pair of deep gray-green eyes that shone with experience and knowledge. Yes, Haruka had really changed. Smiling slightly, Urana asked why Haruka seemed to like Souichi so much.

"Souichi… did me a very important favor. If he hadn't helped me, I'm afraid I would have lost something very important to me."

Urana raised an eyebrow at the comment. Now that she thought about it, why was Haruka on Neptune instead of Pluto? When she and Setsuna met up, she explained that Haruka had business to do on Neptune but she never had the chance to ask what. Haruka had everything she needed on Pluto, what did she have to do on Neptune? Curious, Urana examined her daughter's expression carefully as she asked, "What was so important?"

Haruka blinked and looked away from her mother's piercing eyes. "It's… "

Haruka's head shot up as she remembered something. Spinning to face her mother, Haruka said, "I forgot to tell you that I think I know who—"

Suddenly the door burst open and a messenger rushed in. Panting, he bowed down to Urana before gasping, "Queen Neptina has collapsed in the Princess' room. Queen Pluto has requested your majesty's assistance."

Jumping to her feet, Urana didn't wait for the messenger to lead and dashed past him. Haruka scrambled out of bed and followed the frantic messenger. Haruka knew that she wasn't allowed out of bed, but she didn't seem to care. Honestly, the blonde actually felt fine. Clearly the healers on Neptune knew nothing about Uranians. They were a strong race and easily healed. If she had stayed in bed another day like the healers instructed her to, Haruka believed that she would have strangled someone. Haruka twitched as she remembered how close she had come to strangling Seiya when he came to visit her. If it weren't for the healers holding her back, she would have murdered the man for kissing Michiru. In addition, she had to sit in the bed listening to the residents of the palace gossip about it during her entire stay.

Haruka followed the two up a set of unfamiliar stairs and in to a quiet hallway high above the palace grounds. The blonde felt her breath catch as she gazed out a nearby window and at the magnificent view below her. Beneath her, she could see the ocean stretch out for miles reflecting the bright sun on its calm surface while birds circled above calling out to one another.

Haruka paused as they stopped in front of a room. The messenger stood outside the room, biting his nails and looking from one side to another nervously. Frowning, Haruka stepped into a room. It felt strangely pleasant. The walks were painted a soft aqua marine color and the scent of jasmine flowers drifted in the air. Though the room was large, it didn't feel empty and cold. The furniture was arranged just like her joint room at Charon Palace and beautiful paintings decorated the wall.

"How is Neptina?"

Setsuna stood by an oak bed with Urana beside her. Both had serious expressions on their faces.

"This isn't normal. From what Michiru told me, she collapsed for no reason at all."

Haruka turned to the corner of the room and found a young woman comforting Michiru. The aqua haired girl was sitting in a couch, with her legs pulled up in front of her. From time to time, Michiru would glance worriedly over at the Queen.

Setsuna and Urana's heads both shot up as they sensed Neptina moving. The Queen opened her eyes and looked at Urana and Setsuna with a strange expression on her face.

Urana leaned down to look at her friend in concern. "Neptina, are you—"

"Don't touch me."

Urana moved forward, her brows furrowed. "Neptina…"

The Queen of Neptune pulled the sheets closer to herself as she glanced from Urana to Setsuna. "You have to leave now. Both of you."

Neptina drew out her transformation pen and started to call out the words required for her to transform.

"Please Neptina, stop!"

Urana and Setsuna both grabbed Neptina's arms but the Queen struggled against them. The bed sheets became tangled as the Urana and Setsuna tried to prevent Neptina from moving. Everything seemed to be in chaos.

"Neptina, calm down."

"Let go of me right now!" Neptina cried, struggling against her friends.

Michiru glanced over at the Queen and started to run over to her but stopped when she felt a hand grab on to her shoulder and hold her back.

"Haruka…" Michiru looked surprised as she looked at Haruka, clearly not noticing her friend had come in. Michiru's look of surprise dissolved in to relief.

"Michiru what happened?"

The aqua haired girl shook her head, shaking slightly as she looked over at Haruka. "One moment mother was fine. She was talking to me and then… "

Michiru's voice cracked and it sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Suddenly there were two screams that joined in with Neptina's angry cries. Michiru and Haruka spun around just in time to see the three women being engulfed by a dark light.

Haruka's hand loosened on Michiru's shoulders as she gazed transfixed at the scene before her. A dark presence had filled the room. A cold wind whipped through the small area. The curtains fluttered angrily and the sheets on the bed flapped around like a wailing child. Urana and Setsuna both seemed unable to move as if something was holding them back. Suddenly Haruka saw a dozen strands of dark threads shoot out from Neptina's body and wind themselves around Urana and Setsuna.

Urana gasped as she felt the threads twist themselves around her arms and legs. She pulled away in an attempt to break them off and gasped as they pulled back. As she continued to struggle, she could feel herself become weaker. Urana grasped the bedpost weakly as she examined the threads. Her eyes widened as she realized that they were taking in her energy. No, she couldn't let this happen. Urana weakly tried to fight against the force but to no avail. The blonde could feel her eyelids grow heavier. Her limbs felt like noodles and everything around her began to blur.

Setsuna could feel her energy draining away by the second. Now she understood why Neptina wanted them to leave. If only she understood before. The time guardian shook her head and breathed heavily. If this were to continue, they would lose their lives. She couldn't let this happen. Beside she could see Urana collapse onto the floor. Setsuna fell to her knees gasping for breath. Closing her eyes, she called her time staff to her.

Haruka saw a flash of light and the entire room was filled with a white light. The dark presence stopped growing but was replaced by something cold and dense. Michiru instantly rushed forward towards the three women.

"Stop. Don't touch us Michiru or else you'll be captured in the spell." Setsuna whispered softly as she clutched onto her staff for support. "I have momentarily stopped the spell from continuing, but I don't know how long I could hold it off. When I could no longer hold off the spell, all three of us would be taken to the underworld."

"No, you can't let that happen," Michiru cried, as she stood staring at Setsuna with tears in her eyes. What could they do? Everything was going horribly wrong. She couldn't just stand here and watch them die. She just couldn't.

"How long can you hold it off for?" Haruka questioned.

"Fifteen minutes at the most." Setsuna replied weakly. "If I hadn't lost so much energy, it could be longer, but unfortunately…"

"Michiru and I will use this time to find the person behind this then."

"You won't be able to defeat him," Setsuna argued. "Not with your training."

"He will be weakened after all the spells he had done lately," Haruka argued.

"No, I want you to run while I hold off this spell. The mage won't be unable to do anything else while occupied this spell. Fifteen minutes would be enough time for you to leave the planet and alert Queen Serenity."

"I can't let you die." Haruka yelled.

"Even if the mage is occupied, fifteen minutes isn't enough time for you to track the person down," Setsuna argued. Her grip on the time staff tightened as she strained. "There isn't much time left, you have to leave now."

Haruka gazed sorrowfully at Setsuna. The time guardian's long green hair flowed limply around the woman as she strained to hold off the spell. Setsuna's crimson eyes were closed and sweat trickled down her face. She couldn't let her friend die. She just couldn't.

"What if I have a pretty good idea who the mage is?"

"You still won't have enough time," Setsuna gasped painfully, her eyes still closed.

"What if I add in all my remaining energy as well?"

Haruka's head shot up as she heard her mother's voice.

Urana weakly reached forward and wrapped her fingers around Setsuna's time staff.

"I'm adding in my share as well." Neptina said softly as she reached forward with her hand.

A dim glow filled the room as all three Queens' focused their energy on Setsuna's staff.

"Trust in them Setsuna," Urana murmured as she opened her eyes to look at her friend.

The time guardian closed her eyes, quickly evaluating the situation. She trusted in Haruka and Michiru but the risk was too high. She couldn't afford losing them. Setsuna took in a shaky breath. Precious seconds passed by as she sat here thinking. A million things could go wrong while Haruka and Michiru chased after the mage. For one thing, they could die. If not that, they could most certainly be captured and used against Queen Serenity. Then again, like Haruka said, the mage was probably weak, plus he was still holding the spell on Neptina, Urana, and her. Setsuna weighed her options.

"Setsuna, you must trust in yourself."

The time guardian's head shot up as she glanced at Urana.

"I know you did I good job training them. They will do fine."

Setsuna relaxed and nodded.

"Thirty minutes," Setsuna said softly as she turned to look at Haruka and Michiru. "That is all you have."

"Setsuna…"

"You two are my students. I believe in you." Setsuna smiled shakily at the two princesses. Her cherry colored lips formed a faint smile as she remembered all the days they trained together on Pluto. Somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew that they could do it. "The mage should be occupied in holding the spell on us. You can attack him while he is busy."

"We won't let you down." Michiru whispered.

"The threads," Neptina said softly. Her eyes traveled around the room. "They should lead you to where the mage is…"

Michiru glanced around the room and her eyes widened as she took in the threads. Haruka had noticed them too but had learned from experience that they faded out of sight. Michiru bit her lip as her eyes trailed the magical threads wrapped around the three Queens and led into thin air.

"But they disappear—"

"Mirror."

Michiru's eyes widened as she realized what her mother meant. Walking over to her bedside table, Michiru carefully picked up the aqua mirror. Someone had picked it up after she had fainted and left it by her bedside table. Michiru silently thanked the person. Glancing to the side, Michiru nodded to her mother and Setsuna.

"Come on." Haruka wrapped her hand around Michiru's wrist and led the smaller girl outside the room. Michiru stumbled after Haruka, still not feeling fully coordinated after waking up from her injuries. "I can see them for some distance but then they disappear."

"If mother hadn't mentioned them, I wouldn't have noticed them either. However, even if I focus, they disappear into the air." Michiru eyed the threads for a moment before shaking her head as she followed Haruka. The young woman could feel the warmth from Haruka's hand melt in to her wrist and wondered what Haruka thought about her confession. Michiru glanced distantly at the passing portraits on the walls as she thought back to her conversation with Queen Neptina. Unconsciously, Michiru dug her nails in to the palm of her hand.

Their footsteps echoed as the two princesses ran down the hallway. Michiru held her mirror in front of her with one hand as the threads faded into the air. The two skidded to a stop as the hallway split into two separate paths. Michiru glanced down at her reflection and focused on the mirror, willing it to see the invisible threads. When Michiru opened her eyes and saw nothing in her mirror but her own reflection, the young woman bit her lip and glanced worriedly at Haruka. The blonde glanced down both hallways, mentally counting down the remaining time they had to finish this.

"Haruka… I—" Seeing the anxious look on Haruka's face, Michiru closed her mouth and focused again on her mirror. They didn't have time for this. Michiru glanced worriedly down at the mirror. Setsuna had never instructed them on how to use their talismans, because Michiru and Haruka were not able to summon them yet. Michiru's mirror appearing was not intentional. Grinning wryly, Michiru recalled that she was barely conscious when the mirror appeared.

Placing a hand on Michiru's shoulder, Haruka smiled and said confidently, "I believe you can do it."

Letting her eyes slide shut, the princess concentrated on the mirror, willing the mirror to show her what she wanted. Michiru focused her urgency and need, and felt the mirror respond. Feeling a spark of light flicker in front of her, Michiru snapped her eyes open to find the aqua mirror glowing softly. Michiru wrinkled her brow as she tried to interpret the faint image in the mirror. Shining boldly at her were a dozen threads that pressed into the wall leading to the left. Michiru's eyes shifted as she caught a glimmer of a thread separate from the ones leading to the left, however when she focused on it, it disappeared. Frowning, Michiru decided the threads leading to the left were far more pressing.

"We turn left from here," the young woman said as she looked up from her mirror.

"What did I tell you?"

Michiru grinned at Haruka and momentarily forgot the situation they were in.

Time seemed to freeze as the two stared into each other's eyes. However, the sense of urgency soon came crashing back down. Turning away, Haruka started heading in to the direction Michiru had indicated. They needed to hurry. Rushing down the hallways, and skidding around corners, Michiru's eyes widened as she realized where the threads were leading.

"The cemetery."

The two princesses skidded to a stop as they stepped through a doorway and gazed into the gloomy gray hills before them where the members of the royal family were buried. Narrowing her eyes, Haruka scanned the clearing and spotted a figure with gray hair standing under a tree.

Haruka mentally evaluated the situation. Malachite was supposed to be busy holding the spell on Neptina, Setsuna and Urana. She and Michiru could attack him without him noticing while he did that. Out of the corner of her eye, Haruka saw Michiru draw out her transformation pen and settle into her battle stance. The blonde reached into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around her own pen. Glancing back at Malachite, Haruka's eyes widened. The figure turned to face the two princesses and was holding a ball of blue energy.

"Michiru!"

The aqua haired princess leaped out of the way in time as the ball of energy came flying in to their direction. Haruka barely had enough time herself to jump out of the way as she felt the ground beneath her rumble and bits of rocks stream past her. Landing gracefully some distance away, Haruka realized their mistake when she saw that Malachite had been trying to separate them.

Michiru quickly glanced over at Haruka, not wanting to take her eyes off Malachite for too long, to make sure her partner was fine before focusing once again on her enemy. Michiru couldn't understand. The spell on Setsuna, Urana and her mother was still in effect –Michiru could sense the energy from the other three senshi slowly draining away as they fought to hold the spell. Malachite couldn't be doing that and attacking them at the same time. Unless… Michiru's face paled as she realized what was happening. Malachite had divided his magic and placed a small portion elsewhere to perform its duty while he was free to do something else. The separate thread –Michiru's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. If they had followed that thread, then they could have destroyed the spell. Instead, now they were faced with a battle with Malachite and the spell was still in effect. Michiru berated herself for her mistake. There were so many lives at stake, how could she have tossed away the other thread so lightly. Nails digging into her flesh, Michiru glared angrily at Malachite.

"Ah, Princess Neptune. I'm pleased that you have found me. If only you have been more cooperative, it wouldn't have needed to end this way."

"I have no idea what you are talking about Malachite," Michiru said coolly.

"I was simply referring to the fact that you wouldn't die." The man formed another ball of energy in the palm of his hand.

Michiru's eyes widened as she dropped to her hands and feet and rolled away. Now it made sense --the people who were after her life, at the carnival on Pluto and Mimet. Michiru coughed into her hand as dirt swirled around her.

Malachite's magic should be even weaker if he divided it. If Haruka could find the spell, then there might be hope after all.

"Haruka! The spell is somewhere in the palace. You have to destroy it to free Setsuna and them."

Michiru gasped as another ball of energy struck the ground beside her and she was sent skidding across the grass. Breathing heavily, the aqua haired girl used her arms to push herself off the grassy ground. She could feel her arms shaking beneath her and closed her eyes tightly.

"Michiru!"

The aqua haired girl looked up at her partner. Setsuna and their parents didn't have much time left. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Malachite preparing for another attack.

"Haruka, escape. You have to live to complete our task."

Haruka's eyes widened as she heard these words and remembered a promise they made so long ago.

Michiru stared distantly out the window, her eyes glazed over. Her hand was laid delicately over the cold glass as she watched the snow outside flutter down onto the ground.

"What is bothering you?"

Haruka stood patiently by Michiru's side like a statue, staring out the window at the snow-covered ground.

Michiru tilted her head to one side and let her hand slide down the glass panes. Her ocean blue eyes shifted to her partner and remained on Haruka for a second before flickering back to the scene outside.

"I was thinking about the test Setsuna gave us today."

Haruka remained silent, waiting for Michiru to continue on. The aqua haired princess turned to Haruka, her soft wavy hair swaying as she did so.

"What did you put down for the question asking which one is more important to you: your partner, or the mission?"

Haruka glanced down at her partner and gazed into Michiru's blue eyes. "The mission."

Michiru unclenched her fist and gazed sadly out the window.

"Same," she lied.

When Haruka had read that question, she had thought back to what she had heard about the battle on planet Pluto and how they lost the last Sailor Pluto. The senshi back then had to choose between their partner and their mission. From what she had gathered, the difference in opinions had caused the drift between the planets Neptune and Uranus. She didn't want this issue to be in her way.

"Let's make a promise," Haruka announced suddenly, causing Michiru to raise her head. The blonde furrowed her brow as she glanced down at Michiru. "If something happened to one of us, that we wouldn't go back and help out. The one who survived would go and continue the task at hand."

Michiru closed her eyes and nodded. "So it is settled."

Haruka opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted as Malachite sent an attack in her direction. Jumping back so that she was even closer to the castle, the logical side of Haruka decided that it was best to hunt down the spell. Spinning away from Michiru as another explosion took place near her, Haruka ran towards the castle, not daring to look back.

Haruka found that her feet carried her automatically as she traveled through the twisting corridors in the palace. She knew where to go. Even though she was not familiar with the palace, it seemed that a force towards the source of the spell pulled her. Haruka raised her hand and wiped away a tear from her cheek. Why was she crying? She had been the one who had suggested the promise in the first place. Yet, somehow, back then, she didn't expect herself to become so attached to Michiru. She didn't expect herself to fall in love with the girl.

Haruka quickened her pace, feeling her boots dig into the soft-carpeted hallways. Her heart thudded heavily against Haruka's chest as she forced herself to run faster. Skidding around a corner, Haruka found herself running down a familiar looking hallway. Coldness seemed to surround the blonde as she continued to penetrate into the dark corridor. She was close. Haruka remembered Anna leading her here and pausing in front of an old oak door. The blonde dug in her heels as she passed by a picture of a burning city.

This was it. Not bothering with toying with the lock, Haruka transformed into her senshi form and smashed the door open. From past experience, she knew it was better to come into Malachite's office as Sailor Uranus rather than Haruka. Striding across the office, Uranus ducked under the threads that surrounded Malachite's desk, not wanting to be snared by them like last time.

Flinging a drawer open, Uranus was surprised to find that it was empty. It had to be somewhere. The office was filled with a foreboding aura. There wasn't much time left. At most, she had five minutes left. Uranus swept under the threads again and started pushing the bookcases over, scattering books across the floor. Sweeping her eyes at the mess she made, Uranus moved onto the next bookcase. She didn't have enough time.

Growling angrily, Uranus wished that Michiru were here with her mirror. She was sure the aqua haired woman could find the spell using her mirror. Uranus swept her eyes around the room once more, realizing that there should be a thread from Setsuna, Neptina and her mother that led to the spell. Uranus' heart fell as she failed to find anything. If Michiru was unable to see it in her mirror, what chance did she have of seeing the thread?

Uranus fell to her knees and stared at the books lying scattered around her. Was one of the books holding the spell? No, the item had to be glowing. Uranus glanced around the room once more and shook her head. She had to be missing something. Perhaps it was invisible. That would take away the obvious glow. Uranus' heart sank as she looked at the numerous piles of books on the floor. She didn't have enough time for this.

"Where is it?" Uranus growled. The blonde raked a hand through her hair in frustration as her eyes darted around the room. If it was invisible… Uranus' eyes widened as she something passed her mind. Picking herself off the floor, Uranus stood up and strode over to the desk once again.

Her eyes sweeping the drawer once again, Uranus concluded that there was something suspicious about the desk. Reaching in to the drawer, Uranus felt something prick her hand. Uranus narrowed her eyes as the space inside the drawer suddenly became blurry. Where there was nothing, a doll had suddenly appeared. Uranus gently picked up the doll, avoiding the needles as she turned it back and forth in her hand. Haruka swept a finger over a lock of marine colored hair was pinned to the doll. This didn't feel right.

The spell was definitely placed inside the doll. Uranus could feel Malachite's magic radiating out from the doll. She had to destroy the spell. The blonde's hand hovered over the doll for a second before drawing back again. She couldn't destroy the doll. What if it killed Queen Neptune? Then again if Malachite had wanted Queen Neptune dead, wouldn't he have destroyed the doll already? Yet Malachite might be the type of person that liked seeing other people suffer. Or perhaps he didn't want it to look suspicious. Uranus remembered that Setsuna and Souichi had mentioned King Neptune had passed away because of a mysterious illness. Perhaps Malachite was slowly killing King Uranus using this method. Uranus bit her lip as she felt the seconds roll by. She needed to make a decision quickly.

Uranus' eyes lit up as she spotted the glimmer of the thread that led away from the doll. Perhaps if she broke the bond… Uranus formed a golden ball of energy in her hand and moved it over the thread. The thread shimmered brightly as the ball contacted. Suddenly, an explosion of light threw Uranus back.

Sliding across the carpeted floor, Uranus prayed that she hadn't done anything stupid.

* * *

Back in Michiru's room, Setsuna felt the threads wrapped around their bodies tighten painfully. The Senshi of Time tightened her grasp around the staff and bit her lip to contain her scream.

* * *

Uranus shakily rose to her feet. She was temporarily out of breath as she held on to the wall for support. Closing her eyes, Uranus felt her body slowly healing itself. She couldn't waste time standing here. Striding out of Malachite's office, and down the hall, Uranus was left with a difficult choice. Turning her face left, Uranus bit her lip. Should she check the well being of Setsuna, Queen Neptune and her mother? Uranus rotated her head towards the path in front of her. What if Michiru needed her?

The blonde felt herself being tugged towards Michiru's direction. Her feet seemed to act on their own will as they slowly walked forwards. Setsuna, Queen Neptune and her mother could take care of themselves. Uranus couldn't leave her partner. Suddenly, Uranus broke into a run. Somehow she could sense that her partner needed her.

* * *

Neptune was trapped. Behind her she could feel the rough bark of a tree dig into her back while around her, she could see threads circling her like a hunting tiger. The aqua haired warrior was helpless as the threads suddenly sprang forward, tying her onto the tree.

"All of this could have been done with a lot less bloodshed," Malachite said quietly, stepping towards Sailor Neptune.

"Why?"

"Why?" Malachite laughed bitterly. "Revenge. Sweet revenge. They drove me out of my home, they forced my out of the solar system after I had served them so loyally. I swore that I would return and regain all that I lost and make them pay."

Neptune shook her head.

"Such a pity that a pretty thing like you would have to die so young. I needed power. I needed to become the King of Neptune. Neptina wouldn't let me marry you, so you were no use to me. You were to be disposed. So I tried gaining Neptina's love. She refused. So I figured that killing the entire family would be the best plan from there. It's a bonus that I caught Queen Pluto and Uranus in this web."

"You killed father?"

Malachite smirked.

Neptune shook her head, fighting against the threads that bound her to the tree. "He didn't do anything. Why?"

Tears trickled down Neptune's face. "Why…"

"Let me tell you something," Malachite said, facing Neptune. "The world isn't fair."

A blade appeared in Malachite's hand. "Your time is up princess of Neptune."

"World Shaking!"

Malachite's eyes widened and the man leapt out of the way just as a golden ball hit the spot where he was standing moments before.

"Touch her and you die."

Malachite turned to glare at Uranus. "Have you come to die as well?"

Uranus aimed a kick at Malachite's stomach however the silver haired man grabbed Uranus' foot and held the warrior in place. Growling, Uranus threw a punch at her enemy. Malachite let go of Uranus' leg and blocked the punch. Uranus leapt back, panting slightly. Her eyes darted to her partner tied to the tree and back to Malachite.

"I do not intend to die today." Uranus said as her eyes settled on to Malachite's face.


	22. Journey Ahead

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Notes: Last chapter! Thanks for everyone's support.

I also want to thank Insankitty/Mali/Forgottensyste m for the fanart dedicated to this story. Here's a link if anyone is interested:

size=1 width=100% noshade>Journey Ahead 

Malachite grinned, "Unfortunately for you, I think you will have to die today."

Uranus raised her quivering hand. Her eyes darted to Neptune once again before focusing once again on her enemy. She'll need to find a way to reach her partner and untie her before Malachite could reach Neptune. Closing her raised hand into a fist, Uranus cried, "World Shaking!"

An enormous explosion filled the clearing, shaking the earth beneath their feet. Chunks of rocks and dirt poured downwards on the three. Taking the opportunity, Uranus sprinted over to the direction Neptune was in, coughing as she inhaled the dirt that filled the air. The blonde could feel buckets of pebbles and dirt shower on her body, becoming nestled in her hair and clothes and scratching her bare-skin. Closing her eyes tightly, Uranus continued to find her way through the raining dirt.

She could feel her partner nearby, coolly waiting for her. The blonde's steps were rushed and inelegant as she lumbered forward. A few times Uranus tripped over something but quickly regained her balance. Her partner's presence grew stronger with each step. Eventually, she could hear Neptune's tranquil breathing. Reaching out with her hand, Uranus felt her skin contact with something rough, much like tree bark. Moving her hand lightly over the trunk of the tree, Uranus' hand collided into something warm.

"Neptune?"

"Uranus…"

Opening her eyes, Uranus met Neptune's calm ocean blue eyes. Uranus' hand slid down from Neptune's shoulder and onto the threads that tied her partner to the tree. As soon as Uranus' hand contacted with the threads, she could feel them stirring to life. Slowly, a few sluggishly unwrapped themselves from Neptune and slithered up Uranus' arm. Uranus pulled her hand away before any more strands of thread could reach her. The thread tugging on her hand faltered and broke.

"Uranus, you don't need to worry about me. You need to take care of Malachite."

Neptune's words seemed to flutter past the blonde without effect. Uranus' lips twisted into a light frown as her attention remained focused on her partner. She knew Malachite was still out there, and she knew that she had to dispose of him but Uranus found that she couldn't move away from her partner. The blonde glanced down at the threads enveloping Neptune and noticed that they were gradually contracting around her partner. Uranus looked up, glancing sharply at Neptune.

"They're draining my energy. You have to hurry before Malachite regains his power," her partner said delicately.

"Malachite will kill you when all your energy is drained and you're no more use to him."

Neptune glanced down at the ground, for some reason, she was unable to look into Uranus' sharp eyes. The gray-green orbs had shimmered with concern and distress, making Neptune want to tell Uranus to stay by her side. She knew she couldn't ask her partner to do that no matter how much she wanted to. Instead, the aqua haired princess murmured quietly, "I know."

"I can't let him do that." Uranus said fiercely. Her hands reached forward and touched down on Neptune's shoulders causing the aqua haired girl to look up. The blonde was surprised at how cold her partner's skin was. Uranus' eyes traveled to pale Neptune's face. Her hands tightened their grasp on her partner. She could feel her partners' energy slowly trickling away like the sands in an hourglass. She couldn't abandon Neptune.

"But you can't break through the threads, and if you touch them, they will ensnare you and drain your energy as well," Neptune whispered. Her eyes shimmered but the aqua haired soldier didn't show any fear. "I know you can stop him before he drains all my energy. Uranus, I believe in you."

The blonde faltered. Struggling to find her voice, the blonde whispered, "But what if I am not able to complete this task on time? What if I am too slow? I… I can not let you die."

Neptune smiled soothingly. "It is hard to believe that the wind senshi would call herself slow," she said teasingly behind her poignant eyes.

Uranus' hands quivered as she held on to Neptune's shoulders. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Malachite rising to his feet. He appeared worse for wear, with bruises and scratches littered across his skin. The man's elegant white hair was covered in dirt drooped limply down his face. Malachite would be ready to strike within a few moments. Uranus looked torn as she glanced from her enemy to her partner.

"Michiru…"

Malachite wiped away a smudge from his cheek and glared irately at Uranus. Blood dribbled down his left arm wounded by a jagged rock that had cut through his clothes. In addition, his body was littered with numerous other injuries caused by Uranus' attack and the explosion of rocks. The white haired man clenched his teeth as he glanced at his opponent.

"Haruka…" Neptune gazed at Uranus' shaking hands and back at her partner. Neptune's ocean blue eyes looked questioningly into Uranus' gray-green orbs. Neptune slowly realized that this might be the last time she could look into those gray-green eyes. Pushing aside the logical part of her mind and ignoring the strenuous sensation of her energy draining away, the aqua haired soldier leaned forward as much as she could with the threads tied around her waist and pressed her lips against Uranus'. Neptune felt her partner's eyelashes flutter delicately against her cheek and her grip on her shoulder loosen. To her surprise, the blonde didn't pull away. The kiss was soft and brief, but lingering. Neptune closed her eyes, and pulled away. She could sense Malachite gathering up his energy and drawing more of hers as he prepared to attack. "Malachite—"

Uranus pressed a finger to Neptune's lips and shook her head. Ignoring the threads that were crisscrossing around them, Uranus cupped her partner's face in her right hand. The threads now encased them, trapping the captives inside the spider web like structure. Neptune shook her head. If Uranus didn't leave now, then they would both die together.

"Uranus, you have to leave now."

Threads began to shoot forward and catch around Uranus' arms and legs. The blonde disregarded the threads that pulled on her and lowered her hands to grasp the threads that fastened Neptune to the tree. She was going to free Neptune even if the threads were to ensnare her as well. Grabbing a fistful of threads, the blonde pulled against the strands, in hopes of breaking them.

"I'm not leaving without you," Uranus said through gritted teeth as the threads already wrapped around her tried to pull her away from Neptune. The blonde bit down on her lip as she felt her energy slip into the threads and travel to Malachite. Ignoring this, Uranus continued to focus on the task at hand. She could feel the threads in her hand cut through her gloves and bite into her skin, however Uranus was determined to break them. The threads around Neptune quickly came to life and slithered up Uranus' glove and around the blonde's neck.

"Uranus, please, just leave without me." Neptune cried, her eyes filling up with tears as the additional threads began attacking her partner. Her eyes widened as she watched the numerous threads dig into her partner's skin, creating fresh cuts. "Uranus!"

"Michiru, I can't leave you because I love you!"

Neptune's eyes widened as Uranus' words echoed repeatedly in her mind. The usually calm and collected senshi seemed lost for words as she stared at her partner. "Uranus…"

A golden light suddenly filled the clearing, causing the two senshi to shut their eyes against the blinding light. Through her eyelids, Uranus saw the light die down into a dim glow and slowly opened her eyes.

Neptune also opened her eyes and gasped when she saw a shimmering sword hovering in between her and Uranus. Neptune gazed at the both elegant and deadly sword in awe, taking in the stunning details of the object. The sword had a golden hilt and a deadly looking blade decorated with jewels. Glancing up at Uranus, Neptune saw her partner wrap her gloved hand around the golden hilt and swing the sword around her, easily cutting through all the threads like they were butter.

Spinning around, Uranus rushed to her partner and slashed through the threads tying her partner to the tree. Dropping her sword, Uranus descended onto her knees to catch Neptune as she fell forward.

"Michiru, are you all right."

Neptune smiled softly as she looked up at Uranus. "I'll be fine. Malachite…"

"But—"

"I'll still be here when you get back. I promise."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Malachite re-gathering his energy. Eyes flashing angrily, Uranus decided that her had caused enough damage. Gently laying her partner down on the ground, Uranus rose onto her feet.

"Malachite."

The white haired man drew back the broken threads, and looked up to meet his opponent's eyes. Malachite's usually calm face was now twisted with fury. Forming a fist with his hand, Malachite drew a handful of energy. A dim glow surrounded the man and Uranus could tell that the man was running out of energy.

Slicing her sword through the air, Uranus ran forward, drawing up her energy and pushing it into her sword. Overhead, Uranus could see a flickering ball of energy flying in to her direction. Lifting her sword, the blonde sliced the sharp blade through the energy ball, causing it to disperse in streams of light around her.

Uranus closed her eyes, feeling the wind rush past her and sweep through her tangled hair. She felt it whisper to her and guide her movements. Her navy blue dress fluttered softly as the blonde flowed forward. Haruka's feet seemed to float on top of the grass, as the wind senshi effortlessly glided forward. Lifting her talisman, Uranus closed her eyes and swept the sword in a graceful arch.

"Space Sword Blaster!"

Waves of light shot towards Malachite, engulfing the man completely. Then a loud blast shook the clearing leaving nothing but a column of dust. Everything that followed was deathly silent.

Uranus slowed her run, watching with narrowed eyes as the dust around Malachite cleared. Her knees trembled from weakness but Uranus forced herself to stay standing until she knew for sure that Malachite was dead. Holding her breath, the blonde clutched tightly onto the handle of her sword, as if expecting Malachite to burst out from the cloud of dust and attack her.

Seconds ticked by as Uranus stood patiently and breathlessly waiting for the dust to clear. Her blonde hair fluttered in front of her eyes and the grass beneath her feet flowed back and forth, irritating her legs. Sweat trickled down Uranus' cheek and collected over her brow but the blonde did not dare move her hand to wipe it away. Taking a shuddering breath, Uranus watched as the dust slowly blew away to reveal an empty clearing.

"What!"

Uranus' eyes widened. Where did Malachite go? The blonde spun around, frantically searching for Malachite. Her green-gray eyes fell upon her injured enemy, clutching on to his left arm. Uranus froze as she realized that he was heading towards Neptune.

Even as she lifted her foot off the ground, Uranus knew that she wouldn't be able to make it on time.

"_It is hard to believe that the wind senshi would call herself slow."_

The wind whipped past her tear streaked face and brushed against Uranus' fluttering clothes as the blonde ran forward.

"_I'm not leaving without you."_

No matter how hard she fought her way towards Neptune, Uranus knew she wouldn't be fast enough. Time seemed to slow, and all Uranus could do was continue to run her agonizingly slow steps and watch as Malachite lifted his knife above Neptune's throat.

"_Michiru, I can't leave you because I love you!"_

"Michiru!"

Neptune felt cold hands wrap around her shoulders and harsh breathing on her cheeks. The presence around her was alien and the aqua haired warrior tried to register what was happening. Wincing slightly, Neptune tried to lift her heavy eyelids but was unsuccessful. Her head throbbed painfully, causing the aqua haired princess even more difficulty in thinking straight. Something was happening. Trying to lift her arm, Neptune was shocked to find that all her limbs felt like they were made of lead.

"Michiru!"

Upon hearing Uranus's voice, Neptune's eyes snapped open. Opening ones eyes and awakening to see your opponent leaning over you was is not a good thing for anyone --especially if he had a knife in his hand. Eyes widening in surprise, Neptune's eyes followed the motion of the knife as Malachite lifted it above Neptune's slim neck.

"Michiru, move!"

Years of training kicked in as Neptune forced her body to roll aside, narrowly avoiding the knife as it became buried in the ground beside her. Gasping for breath, Neptune placed her shaking arms beneath her and tried to unsuccessfully lift herself off the ground. Beside her, she felt Malachite rise maladroitly onto his feet and step unsteadily towards her. Neptune knew she was helpless in her prostrate position. She could sense the ground beneath her bruised hands and cheek vibrate as Malachite stepped closer and closer.

Tilting her face to the side, Neptune met Malachite's ice-cold eyes. She had no more energy to fight back. All she could do now was lay face down on the ground and wait for the knife to be plunged ruthlessly through her body. Knowing that she had nothing left to fight with, Neptune felt her transformation slowly unravel and her energy drain away as she returned to her regular form.

"Uranus…"

Michiru closed her eyes, feeling the wind lift her hair off her face and whisper soft words in her ears. The grass beneath her face felt cool and comforting as they rustled softly, tickling her cheek. The footsteps had stopped and Michiru lifted her eyelids to meet Malachite's charcoal black boots. It took a moment for the aqua haired princess to notice that the boots were tattered and soaked with blood in some areas.

They were so close. How could they lose after all the effort they put in? Against her will, Michiru's eyelids fluttered shut delicately. She couldn't give up. She promised Uranus that she would still be here. She couldn't die…

Michiru felt her clothes rustle as something soared past above her in a gust of wind. Uranus. Her lips formed a small smile as Neptune fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Uranus leapt over Michiru's motionless body, slamming herself into Malachite. Both warriors tumbled onto the grassy ground, momentarily stunned. Uranus was the first back onto her feet. Without pausing for a moment to think, Uranus dashed forward, her sword ready in her hand. Her opponent was already recovering and climbing back onto his feet. Uranus met Malachite's frosty eyes. Without pausing for a moment to think, Uranus plunged the sword into Malachite's chest. 

Blood. The Uranian warrior felt her gloves slowly soak up the warm blood that seeped out of Malachite's wound. The abhorrent odor of blood filled the air while Uranus tightened her grip on the damp hilt of her sword. Closing her eyes, Uranus pulled her sword out of Malachite's body. Blood squirted out from Malachite's chest, staining Uranus' outfit. Taking a deep breath, Uranus dropped her sword onto the ground and fell on to her knees. She had reached her limit. Turning her head to the side, Uranus glanced down at her partner.

"Michiru."

Reaching forward, Uranus gripped the grass in front of her and pulled herself forward. Uranus winced as the blades of grass scraped her wounds and bruises. Uranus felt her transformation slowly come undone. Feeling slightly better that her clothes were no longer soaked in blood, Haruka continued to crawl forward despite the loss of her powers. Reaching forward with her hand, Haruka laid her fingers on Michiru's palm. Smiling softly, Haruka let the darkness surrounding her, envelop her and carry her into a deep slumber.

XXX

The room slowly came into focus as Setsuna opened her eyes. Staring at the soft blue rug in front of her for a few moments, the Queen of Pluto remained motionless for a period. Blinking a few times, the Senshi of Time speculated what had happened. She had recalled the threads trapping Neptina, Urana and her. Their energy was slowly draining away as the three strived to keep the time spell operational. Then the threads suddenly tightened around them and all became dark. Her right hand tightening around the cool handle of her staff, Setsuna pushed herself off the ground. Feather light strands of thread slid down her body as Setsuna forced herself into a sitting position.

"Urana, Neptina."

"Gah, I feel like I've been run over by a bull." Urana muttered as she sat up, rubbing her head. The Queen of Uranus forced a smile on to her face as she turned to Setsuna. "Are you all right?"

Setsuna nodded as she turned to glance at the bed Neptina was in. The blankets were tossed aside and the pillows appeared to be thrown on to the floor haphazardly. "I'm just worried about Neptina."

Urana smirked as she placed her hand on the wall and stood up shakily. Looking down at the bed beside her, Urana placed a hand on Neptina's cheek. "She is always the last one to wake up. She'll be fine."

Turning to look outside the window in Michiru's room, Urana narrowed her eyes. "It looks like Haruka and Michiru succeeded."

* * *

Haruka groaned as the sound of chirping birds filled her ears. She didn't want to get up from bed now. Pulling the blankets closer to herself, the blonde buried her head into her pillow. 

"Haruka, you better get up."

The blonde felt someone tugging at her blankets and growled softly. It was like this every single day. She had no idea how her mother could wake up so early. The Queen surely had better stuff to do. Yet everyday, she would come into her room to wake Haruka up for her lessons before her duties at court.

"Mom, just a few more minutes."

"You've been sleeping enough already."

Haruka groaned getting ready to throw her pillow at her mother before realizing something. Her mother hadn't been able to be by her side and wake her up in the morning for some number of years. Everyday on Pluto, Michiru would be the one to drag Haruka out of bed and when the blonde wouldn't comply, the aqua haired princess would literally haul Haruka out from under the covers and shove her into the washroom.

Opening a blurry eye, Haruka glanced up to see her mother leaning over her. The Queen's shoulder length blonde hair swayed elegantly back and forth as she looked down worriedly at her daughter.

Looking around, Haruka realized she didn't recognize her surroundings. Silky blue curtains filtered the bright light from the morning sun on her left while on her right was an elegant dressing cabinet, a desk and a night table. The carpet was a light creamy color, which complimented the snowy white color of the walls.

"Where am I?"

"Triton Palace," Urana replied. Seeing Haruka's confused expression, Urana chuckled softly. "You're still slow in the morning. Then again, you were asleep for three entire days."

Haruka opened her mouth to question what her mother meant but closed it as the events slowly started flowing back to Haruka. The blonde suddenly sprang up from the bed. Turning to look around her frantically, Haruka turned to look inquiringly at her mother.

"How is Michiru?"

"Haruka, please don't do that," Urana commanded as she pushed Haruka back down onto the bed. The Queen of Uranus looked down at her daughter and sighed softly.

"You know, that is the first thing Michiru asked me when she woke up," a new voice commented coolly.

Haruka turned towards the doorway to find Queen Neptune standing there with a raised eyebrow. The Queen had a light frown on her face as she walked towards Haruka. Haruka's relaxed a little knowing that Michiru was fine but kept wary. Neptina's comment repeated itself in Haruka's mind, keeping the blonde alert. Keeping a careful eye on Neptina, the blonde noted that she did not look very impressed. Neptina's eyes, though tired, were icy and sent chills down Haruka's back, giving her the feeling that she had been doing something she was not supposed to. Haruka tried not to squirm while briefly wondering how often Michiru had been given that look while she was younger. Perhaps that is why Michiru seemed unaffected by most of the glares that instructors gave her, which, by the way, was not very often. Regardless of the situation, Haruka let a grim smile grace her face.

Taking a seat beside Urana, the Queen of Neptune leaned forward and stared at Haruka straight in the eye. Haruka looked straight back up at Neptina. She could sense that Neptina had knowledge of her relationship with Michiru. No matter what happened, Haruka was going to stick by Michiru's side. Power radiated off the Queen in rolling waves, causing Haruka to feel even more wary.

"You and Michiru are more than just friends."

It wasn't a question but a statement. Haruka remained silent but did not turn her head away. She knew where this was leading but didn't help Neptina along the way.

"What is she to you?" Neptina pressed, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"I love her."

Haruka heard her mother shift in the chair beside her but Urana didn't intervene. For this, Haruka was thankful. Haruka knew that she would have to talk to her mother sooner or later about this but this wasn't the way she wanted the Queen of Uranus to find out. They would wait until later to talk it out. Meanwhile, she would need to focus her attention on Neptina.

Neptina raised an eyebrow. "Do you even understand what love is?"

Haruka sat up in the bed, this time without Urana pushing her back down.

"Why do I need to define love in order for me to love someone?" Haruka asked, trying to keep her tone even and temper under control.

Neptina reached forward with cold hands and tilted Haruka's chin upwards.

"Because," she replied evenly, "I do not believe you understand what you are getting into."

Haruka pulled away from Neptina and glared angrily at the Queen. How could she say that? The only reason Haruka had pushed away Michiru –the only reason they kept away from each other was because they had thought of the consequences and had measured the situations they were in. Whether it was because Michiru had wanted the best for her kingdom or Haruka knowing that their feelings will get in the way of their duty, they did it because they _did_ understand. It was Neptina that didn't know the sacrifices they had made and the pain they had been through to achieve what they had now.

"What do you know?" Haruka argued.

"I know that if you and Michiru become lovers, you would be ridiculed by many," Neptina answered as she grabbed on to Haruka's shaking wrist. "I know that if you and Michiru become lovers, you might not be able to defend the solar system effectively and that your feelings will get in the way of duty. I know—"

"If we are ridiculed, I will hold my head up high and still love Michiru all the same," Haruka shot back, "I will be by her side always. If we are hated, I will be there to support her. No matter what happens, I will not let anyone harm her.

"If we would not be able to defend the solar system effectively, we will train harder and hone our skills. We will work together to defeat opponents and perform even more effectively as partners."

"Do you really love Michiru?"

"Yes."

Neptina sighed and dropped Haruka's wrist. Looking down forlornly she placed a hand on Haruka's shoulder.

"You are just as determined as Michiru aren't you?" Neptina murmured softly to herself. The Queen glanced down at Haruka, her wavy hair falling softly down her shoulder. Her eyes softened as she spoke. "Your path ahead will be difficult."

"We will be ready to handle it together."

Haruka turned to her mother to see how she was managing this and was flabbergasted to discover that her mother looked rather pleased. The Queen of Uranus turned her head to face Neptina and smirked.

"I told you they knew what they were doing."

Neptina sighed and ran her fingers through her long wavy hair. Her expression was a mixture between uncertainty and sadness as she glanced down at Haruka. Michiru and Haruka loved each other dearly; Neptina could tell from the fire in their eyes when she spoke to them about the other. Yet, she didn't want these two children to face what lay ahead for them. She had thought that they were too young to understand but they had proved her wrong over and over again. She had seen this coming in her mirror for a long time and had tried to prevent it. She had ordered Michiru to keep away from Haruka, taught Michiru strictly on matters of how duty came before your own desires and had even forced Seiya on to her daughter. There were many times when she had doubted what she was doing and wondered whether she was doing the right thing as a mother. Yet looking at Haruka now and after hearing Michiru's own words, she had no doubt that the blonde would be able to take care of Michiru and whatever came in their way. Neptina closed her eyes, remembering the conversations she had with Michiru.

"_I… I love Haruka."_

_Neptina felt her breath catch in her throat. So Michiru had finally said it. The flashes of the Michiru's future she had seen repeatedly in the past passed quickly across her mind. She had tried to prevent it numerous times in the past. She had worked effortlessly to lead Michiru away from this path, and yet, she had failed. Neptina felt her nails digging in to the palms of her hands as she glanced down at Michiru._

"_You love Haruka?" Neptina repeated slowly, not quite to anyone. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she glanced down at Michiru. "Do you understand that both of you are girls? Do you understand what would lay ahead if you and Haruka became lovers?"_

"_I understand that I love her." Michiru gazed down at her hands and smiled softly. _

"_And do you think it would be worth it in the end?" Neptina questioned, her tone not quite angry but not pleased either. "Many people will not be understanding. Many people will look at you with scorn. Many people will try to tear you apart. Will you be able to deal with that?"_

"_Yes."_

_The answer struck Neptina hard. _

"_Why?" _

_What made Michiru follow her heart while she followed her mind? What made Michiru willing to deal with so many hardships ahead? Neptina gazed sadly at the daughter. Why was she unable to do that herself? Perhaps she had not loved Zhen as much as she had thought._

_Michiru lifted her head and said quietly, "Love."_

_Neptina suddenly felt a headache creeping up on her. It was either the poor health she had been having lately or Michiru's sudden declaration of love for Haruka. Whatever it was, Neptina clasped on to the bedpost and placed her forehead in her hands. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Michiru biting her lip._

"_I'm sorry mother, but I could not marry Seiya."_

"_So Haruka loves you as well?" Neptina asked, feeling slightly irritated that she would have to deal with Seiya's family and cancel the engagement. However it was apparent that Michiru was determined not to marry Seiya. _

"_Even if she didn't I would not want to marry Seiya. I would remain by her side and protect and support Haruka."_

_Neptina closed her eyes. How different Michiru was from her. Briefly, Neptina wondered if she would have done the same for Zhen if she had not married Asuran. Perhaps Zhen still would have wedded with Urana but would she have stayed by his side? The path she had chosen was based on her duty as a Queen and though it was not what she had wanted, Neptina decided that she could live with the ending. The path Michiru is choosing… Neptina opened her eyes and gazed at Michiru. _

_Michiru gazed defiantly up at her mother. _

"I want to be with Haruka. No matter what happens," Michiru said with a small smile on her face."

Wincing slightly, Neptina decided to stop the memory there instead of reliving the moments she had when the invisible threads tied around her were activated. That was not one of the proudest moments of her life.

Smiling sadly, Neptina recalled the moments after she had woken up from her unconscious state and how the three of them had rushed to the cemetery to find Haruka and Michiru.

"I see you're awake, you're always so slow," Urana teased as she reached down and pushed back a stray strand of hair from Neptina's face. Furrowing her brow, Neptina looked up at her partner and frowned.

"I'm not slow," Neptina mumbled, as she tried to clear her blurry vision. "You're just abnormally fast."

Urana straightened up and laughed. "I never knew you had a sense of humor."

Sitting up, the Queen of Neptune glanced around the room. Setsuna was by the doorway of the room speaking with a few castle maids. The expression on Setsuna's face was serious as she listened silently to what they had to say.

Turning around to look at Neptina and Urana, Setsuna gestured for them to follow her.

"Haruka and Michiru? Did they succeed? How is everyone else?"

Setsuna's lips thinned as she tried to explain their situation.

"The residents of the palace and the people that were residing here after the attack on the city have taken the secret passage out of the palace under your officer's commands so they are safe."

Neptina nodded, satisfied that her officers were able to keep level headed in a dangerous situation like this and take the appropriate actions with out her command. The hours spent discussing and setting down rules, regulations and actions to take in different situations appeared to be worth it after all.

"The palace residents are slowly returning. As for Haruka and Michiru… No one knows where they are yet."

Their footsteps quickened down the hallway.

"But they are alive," Urana said. "I could sense them, but not very well."

Setsuna bit her lip; though they could feel Haruka and Michiru's aura, it was definitely very weak. When she was usually in close proximity to Haruka and Michiru, Setsuna could feel their power shimmering like a warm fire –not as refined as Neptina's and Urana's –but still very bright.

Setsuna nodded, "I just have a hint of their aura. Neptina?"

The two turned to look at the Queen of Neptune, knowing that her ability to sense others were more refined then theirs. The marine haired woman nodded, stepping ahead of Setsuna and Urana. Though she had a stronger sense of where the two children were, it was still very difficult to pinpoint their exact location. All she could do was head in the direction where she felt that their aura was stronger.

"This way," Neptina said, turning abruptly down a corridor.

Pausing at a fork in their path, Neptina closed her eyes as she tried to locate Haruka and Michiru.

"Why don't you have a mirror as your talisman?" Urana teased lightly, causing Neptina to open her eyes and stare at her partner with a baffled expression. "It would be easier for you to locate Haruka and Michiru."

Neptina raised an eyebrow and reminded in a grim voice, "My flute has saved your sorry self many times."

Urana laughed. "I'm not saying that I do not appreciate your flute."

Frowning softly, Neptina held out her hand and called for her flute. Something Urana said had struck something in her memory. When she was still training to be a senshi, Neptina had often complained to her parents about her talisman. Why was her talisman a flute while most of the family had something that was able to look into the future, see what is not normally seen and able to find things that are lost? Though she had the Neptunian ability see through weaker illusions, her talisman did not enable her to strengthen that skill. Throughout her years of training with Urana and Ruby, she was able to learn many things about her talisman and use it to its full extent. Shimmering dimly, the flute slowly appeared on her palm.

"Your power is still low," Setsuna reminded Neptina.

The marine haired woman nodded, telling Setsuna that she understood. However… Glancing at Urana, she smiled softly before lifting the flute to her lips.

"I see," Setsuna commented with a small smile on her lips.. "You're trying to call Michiru's talisman with yours. Looks like the flute is more useful than you thought Urana."

"Hey, I never said that it wasn't useful," Urana protested.

Closing her eyes, Neptina blew softly on her flute. The soft and moving tune reverberated in the corridor and flowed effortlessly like a river through the air. Setsuna could feel her staff shaking in her hand in response to Neptina's flute. Urana's sword reacted in the same way and the Queen of Uranus gently placed a hand on the hilt to calm the sword. The three senshi suddenly felt a surge of power coming from their left.

"The power is too strong for just one talisman," Setsuna murmured softly as they headed towards the source of the power.

Urana felt her brow furrow. Then that meant that Haruka's talisman had showed up. Perhaps the situation was more urgent than they had thought if Haruka's talisman had appeared. The task should have been easy because the mage had been held down by his spell on the three of them. Had something gone wrong?

The three stopped as they stood in front of the gate leading to the cemetery. The ground was scorched in many different areas and the entire area looked like it had been bombarded with numerous asteroids. In the middle of the battleground was the glow of two talismans. The three headed in that direction, their shoes softly crunching the grass beneath them.

Neptina knelt down beside her daughter. Her gaze traveled down her shoulder to her arm and then her hand, which was held in Haruka's. Both senshi had content expressions on their faces and seeing the two like this made Neptina's heart clench painfully.

"Michiru…"

Neptina slowly raised her head and turned to Urana. Her partner looked down at the scene in front of her and sighed. Urana didn't appear surprised but she didn't seem overjoyed either.

"I wanted to prevent this," Neptina whispered. "I had done everything. I thought I had it under control and was almost sure that Michiru wouldn't fall in love with Haruka."

_Running a hand through her hair, Urana turned to Neptina and said quietly, "The best we can do now is support them through whatever is to come."_

So Neptina had waited until Michiru had awoken and asked her if it was really the future she wanted. Her answer was just as firm as ever. She would stay by Haruka's side until the end.

"Haruka… take good care of Michiru."

* * *

Charon Palace. Six months later. 

The fire cackled warmly in the dining hall of Charon Palace. The aroma of soup filled the air, telling the princess that it was almost time for dinner. Michiru glanced down at her sketch and frowned at what she saw. Tapping her quill irritably, the Princess of Neptune glanced back up at the vase that she was supposed to be drawing.

"What's wrong? You look displeased," a silky voice said.

Michiru smiled as she felt someone slip behind her and glance over her shoulder at the sketch. The familiar scent of her partner filled the air, warming Michiru's insides.

"This sketch, it doesn't look right," Michiru answered, frowning at the drawing in front of her; however, all her attention was currently focused on the blonde behind her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were training with the Combat Master."

"I got bored," Haruka replied airily, wrapping her arms around Michiru.

"Meaning she beat you."

"Hey," Haruka protested. "I'm not that bad. Why do you immediately think that I lost?"

Michiru brought her hand up to muffle a giggle.

"You're right, I should think better of you," Michiru whispered as she turned around in Haruka's arms. She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her partner's lips.

The two were silent for a while, just content to be with each other. The past six months have been hard. The two senshi had worked to their full extent to make sure that they kept their promise to their mothers. They would not let their bond weaken them in battle. Haruka and Michiru worked extensively on their attacks and made sure that their techniques were flawless with the help of Setsuna and the Combats Master on Pluto. After many days ending with bruised bodies and sore muscles, Haruka and Michiru were confident in their abilities.

"What are you thinking of?" Haruka suddenly asked.

"Mm… I'm thinking about the earrings my father left me," Michiru replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I was just thinking that I should have taken better care of them."

"Oh, that reminds me…"

Haruka reached into her pocket and brought out a small piece of cloth that was folded into a neat package. "I wanted to give this to you."

Blinking curiously, Michiru reached forward to accept the package. Carefully unfolding the silky cloth, Michiru gasped in surprise as she found two earrings. One was the one her father had given her. The aqua marine earring glimmered brightly, reflecting the light from the warm fire in front of her. Michiru felt her eyes begin to fill up with tears. She had thought that she had lost them. Blinking away the tears, Michiru glanced down at the other earring. The other was an amber earring that was shaped like a star. Michiru ran a finger over the earring taking in its texture and design. It glowed warmly in Michiru's hand.

"This earring…" Michiru frowned. She had seen this design on Uranian flags and pictures. Looking more carefully at the earring, Michiru noticed the symbol of Uranus glowing from within the stone.

"My mother gave this to me. I don't like wearing it so I thought I would give it to you," Haruka said casually.

Michiru felt her eyes tearing up again. Michiru stared down at the earrings and glanced back at Haruka. "Thank you."

Haruka smiled and kissed Michiru softly on the lips. The two pulled apart when they heard a snicker from across the room. Leaning against a door was palace guard. The man looked at the two princesses with contempt. An ugly smirk was plastered on his face as he walked forward.

"Now isn't that sickeningly sweet?" He said.

Haruka rose to feet, her hands clenched into fists. Michiru placed a placating hand on Haruka's arm as she rose to her feet as well. Haruka glanced at Michiru through the corner of her eye, still keeping her focus on the man in front of them. Michiru gave her partner a look that said that she would handle this.

"Is there a problem?" Michiru asked coolly as she faced the man.

"Yes, there actually is," he replied. "And that is you two."

Michiru felt Haruka's muscles tighten and tightened her grasp on Haruka's sleeve. If they beat up everyone who had a problem with their relationship, then it certainly wouldn't make people like them better. She and Haruka had discussed this before.

"Haruka…"

"I can't just stand here and let him insult us."

"You can't beat him up either!" Michiru said softly.

"But we can."

Haruka and Michiru both turned to the doorway to see three familiar faces standing behind the palace guard with wide smirks on their faces. Michiru raised an eyebrow while Haruka relaxed and smirked evilly at the guard.

"Why do you look so amused?" Michiru asked as Haruka leaned back to watch the show.

"Because I know those three can beat a person up really well."

"Haruka," Michiru said warningly.

After leaving the palace-guard as a bloody pulp, and rolling his unconscious body out of the room, Seiya, Taiki and Yaten flopped down on couches with grins on their faces.

Haruka looked over Yaten briefly before turning to the other two men sitting across from her. Seiya appeared as dislikable as always, with his cocky smile and sparkling eyes. Sitting beside Seiya was Taiki, looking reserved and disinterested as he looked around the room.

"What are you three doing here?" Michiru asked, slightly surprised at the appearance of the three men.

"A visit," Seiya replied waving his hand in the air as he spoke. His deep blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he spoke. The raven-haired man took off his burgundy jacket and threw it aside as he leaned back on the couch. "We didn't have time to properly so good bye on Triton Palace with so many things happening."

"Where ever he goes, I follow," Taiki replied nonchalantly gesturing towards Seiya. "You know Seiya --he couldn't take care of himself if his life depended on it."

Haruka chortled. Taiki ignored the indignant yell from Seiya, which was caused by his comment and smiled politely at Michiru as she opened her mouth to speak. Huffing like a child, Seiya crossed his arms over his chest and satisfied himself with glaring at Taiki.

"How is it on Neptune?" Michiru asked curiously.

"Repairs are going well and it is flourishing more than it ever has with the help from Queen Uranus," Taiki replied while Seiya just shrugged, apparently not interested in such matters. The raven-haired man leaned back on the couch with his arms tucked behind his head as he stared lazily at the ceiling.

Haruka's eyes lit up at what Taiki had said. "It seems that the relationship between our two planets have finally settled."

The brunette nodded, looking pleased as well. "Many things will be easier that way. Plus Neptune needs all the help it can get."

"How are your parents?" Michiru asked Seiya politely as Haruka conversed with Taiki. Her last meeting with them did not end up well because of Michiru's decision to cancel the engagement. Though Seiya seemed pleased, his parents didn't take it too well at all.

"They've probably forgotten about the incident," Seiya said waving the topic aside. "They're still trying to marry me off though. They probably can't wait for me to leave home."

"I'm sure you'll find a nice girl to settle down with eventually," Michiru said thoughtfully.

Briefly pausing his conversation with Haruka, Taiki turned to Seiya and snorted into his hand. This caused the raven-haired man to raise an eyebrow at his usually reserved bodyguard but he remained silent. "If you're talking about Seiya settling down, I don't think it is very likely."

His eyes sparkled as he looked at Michiru. The princess of Neptune didn't know Seiya quite as well as he did, and he was quite sure that it would take a very unique woman if Seiya were ever to settle down.

"I would feel sorry for the woman he does settle down with," Haruka smirked.

"Hey, what does that mean?" Seiya cried as he jumped up from his relaxed position on the couch and slammed his hands on the table.

Haruka met Seiya's raging face calmly. "Nothing really, it's just if you randomly kiss girls, it's likely you wouldn't make a good partner."

Haruka was obviously still upset about Seiya kissing Michiru. Actually, upset was an understatement considering the homicidal glare that Haruka was sending Seiya. The blonde's eyes flashed dangerously as the two locked in a staring contest.

Michiru was about to stand up and pull Haruka back to her seat before a fight ensued but was save the effort when Yaten reached up with his hand and jerked Seiya back on to his seat.

"Hey," Seiya yelled indignantly. "What was that for?"

Hesitating slightly, Michiru turned to face the last member of the group who had seemed content to not say anything so far in the conversation. "Er… Yaten, what are you doing here?"

"Seiya dragged me along." Yaten replied, looking at Seiya out of the corner of his eye. Shifting all his attention to Michiru, Yaten raised an eyebrow at Michiru's perplexed expression. "I would have come back for a visit even if he didn't though."

Michiru bit her lip as she glanced over at Yaten. She and Haruka had discussed her relationship with Yaten before and Haruka had told her firmly that her relationship with Yaten was over and that he had betrayed her. Michiru's ocean blue eyes met Yaten's lime green orbs. Despite what Haruka said, she still wondered about Yaten. Was he still a threat to her?

"Why are you with Seiya?" Haruka asked, interrupting Michiru's thoughts.

Yaten broke his eye contact with Michiru and shrugged, mumbling something about duties.

"A few months ago when we were visiting Uranus for business, Seiya was attacked by thieves," Taiki explained. "Let's just say that Yaten helped us out in a tight situation. So in the end we offered him a job as Seiya's bodyguard."

Yaten snorted. "I only helped because they were interrupting my lunch."

Feeling eyes on him, Yaten turned to face Michiru. "Do you need something?"

Blinking in surprise at Yaten's directness –she had forgotten what it was like being with Yaten—Michiru frowned and said that she didn't need anything. It wasn't that she was afraid to ask. She didn't care what Yaten would say to her question or how he would react. She just didn't want to call this to attention in front of so much people --especially Haruka.

"I'm hungry," Seiya said suddenly, jumping onto his feet. Stretching his hands he looked towards the door. "Beating up that palace guard sure took up a lot of energy. What are they serving tonight?"

Striding towards the door, Seiya left the room. Not far after him were Taiki and Haruka. Yaten also got to his feet and started exiting the room. The man paused as he felt a hand softly grab onto his arm. Sighing softly, Yaten turned to Michiru with an annoyed expression.

"Michiru are you coming?" Haruka asked, waiting by the door. Her eyes lingered on Yaten before her cobalt blue orbs focused again on Michiru.

"Yes, I'll be there in a minute," the aqua haired woman replied.

Turning to look at Yaten once more, Haruka turned and left the room.

"I thought you didn't want anything from me," Yaten said coolly as Michiru let go of his arm. The silver-haired man flung back his long silver hair as he appraised Michiru. "If you want to discuss my relationship with Haruka, all I have to say that we are just friends. Maybe not even…"

Michiru furrowed her brow as she digested his words. Yaten wasn't one to bother with lies or with half-truths so she trusted what he said about Haruka with a inner sigh of relief. What did bother her slightly were his last words. "Maybe not even?"

Yaten shrugged. "Haruka likes to hold grudges."

"Oh," Michiru murmured quietly.

She understood that. She was quite sure that Haruka still was angry with Seiya for kissing her half a year ago and still looked murderous whenever she mentioned the man. Let's just say that she didn't even wish for her worse enemy to fall into Haruka's bad side. Glancing at Yaten, Michiru felt slightly sympathetic. If she and Yaten hadn't started on opposite sides, they might have become friends. She remembered the conversations she had with Yaten alone and had briefly saw what lay underneath his mask of indifference a few number of times. Yaten wasn't that bad of a person, she decided.

"I'm sure Haruka has forgiven you," Michiru said quietly. Yaten's expression changed slightly for a moment before returning to his normal expression. Michiru smiled, realizing that Yaten really did care for Haruka. "Come on, we better not dawdle too long, or they'll wonder where we are."

As Michiru left the room, Yaten glanced towards the ceiling and sighed. "I can tell you're there… Haruka."

The blonde raised an eyebrow and slid out from behind the door. Yaten turned around, his hands behind his back and met Haruka's eyes for the first time since he had come into the room. The two were silent for a while.

"It's been a while," Haruka finally said as she walked forwards.

"Yes, it has," Yaten answered quietly.

Haruka reached into her pocket and brought out her remaining amber earring. Taking Yaten's hand, she dropped the earring onto his palm.

Yaten glanced down at the earring, confusion written all over his face. She had given Haruka the earring when he said that they would start a new friendship that was free of any hidden motives. Did that mean that Haruka rejected his friendship? Yaten glanced up and looked at Haruka sharply.

"Yaten," Haruka began, "I want you to keep this."

Yaten closed her hand over the earring and brought it to his side. He looked at Haruka dejectedly before nodding and turning away.

"I gave the earrings to the two people who have influenced he the most in my life. One to Michiru and one to you," Haruka said loudly, causing Yaten to stop. "I can not hold a grudge against you when you have showed me the world and have taught me to follow what I believe in. Yaten… thank you."

Slowly turning around, Yaten hesitantly reached out with her hand and placed it on Haruka's shoulder before brushing past Haruka. The blonde spun around and blinked in confusion.

"We don't want to keep everyone waiting do we?" Yaten asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Shaking her head, Haruka followed Yaten, with a smile on her face. Crossing her arms behind her head, Haruka gazed up at the ceiling and smiled with contentment. The future ahead may seem dark but she had the people she cared for by her side and that was enough for her.

* * *

End

* * *


End file.
